Happy New Year! Today I have a simple cheese quesadilla meal.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with 2015 cut out with small cookie cutters
Top Right: Green olives with pimentos on frilly toothpicks
Bottom Right: Celery with bourbon blue cheese (I used less bourbon)
Keeping with tradition I am happy to share my favorite bento from the year. It was difficult picking only 14.
I made this lunch as part of a series of Japan travel photos and bento I made at home after the trip. The meals were inspired by my photos and memories.
This is another lunch inspired by my trip to Japan in 2014. I made this Buddha quesadilla lunch for my niece. I smile every time I see this photo.
This is the third bento inspired by my trip to Japan to make this list. I love the simplicity of this lunch.
I made this lunch for a hike with my nephews at a nearby nature preserve. It stands out for me as one of my better bento from the year.
This is another lunch I made for the hike at the nature preserve. It was incredibly simple – made with a cookie cutter but I thought it was beautiful.
I was delighted when I found this cookie cutter and knew that I needed to use it to make lunch. It is another simple cookie cutter lunch but I loved it.
I made this for my 17 year old nephew as part of 14 Fourth of July themed meals.
My niece came up with the idea for this meal. Maybe you did not know it was fireworks until I told you but I love how this turned out.
After making this Babar out of mashed potatoes I was so delighted I had to share it immediately with my Mom and husband. If I had to pick one favorite from the year it is this one.
Another simple cookie cutter lunch but it was a delight to make and eat.
This was another one that made me smile a lot. Why eat a regular calzone when it can be cute like this?
I made this simple more traditional Japanese bento for my niece.
Sprouts make perfect grass for these sandwich bunnies. Also this year I had fun decorating pistachios.
This lunch was part of a series of flower themed lunches. I actually had a negative comment on this one on Pinterest. A person assumed that cute lunches were only for kids and that if we teach kids not to eat toxic plants we should not make lunches that look like them. I made this lunch for myself not a kid and I was pleased that she thought it looked so good. It is cream cheese and chives.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing my favorite bento from the year. Please be sure to subscribe to my blog by email if you want to see what I make in 2015.
I like to make many different types of Christmas cookies it but does take a lot of time including cleaning up the kitchen afterwards. Many years ago I started making cookies that did well in the freezer so I could make batches over a few weeks but serve many different types at once. I frost before serving.
I assembled this cookie tray to send to my husband’s business. I still have more in my freezer for the next time I want to make a cookie tray.
What types of holiday cookies do you make?
I made these Reindeer Hash Browns because one of my friends is hosting a cute reindeer snacks party (round-up) and I am not one to miss out on cute food parties.
The first time I tried making these I used reindeer shaped metal cookie cutters that had narrow legs. It was very difficult to pack in the potatoes and it was a mess. Luckily I found a reindeer cookie cutter in my grocery store that had fat legs. I tried making the hash browns again with this cookie cutter and it worked out great. It would have been easier if my cookie cutter did not have a handle but you could probably cut it off with tin snips if you were going to make a lot of these.
I only made one reindeer hash brown with this cutter. I was pressed for time and decided not to stay up all night testing different ways to make reindeer shaped hash brown potatoes. Although it would have been delicious and memorable. So if you try this and have advice please share them in the comments.
Instructions:
Peel and shred potato (I used a box grater). You could also try buying frozen hash brown shredded potatoes.
Heat a small frying pan with oil. I sprayed my cookie cutter with cooking spray but I don’t know it it is necessary.
Pack enough shredded hash brown potatoes into the cookie cutter so it holds it shape but not too much that it is difficult to get the potatoes in the middle cooked. You will need to experiment and get the feel for it if you are not accustomed to making hash browns. I removed the cookie cutter after packing it with shredded potatoes.
I cooked the hash brown at medium heat and did not move it until I could tell that it was browning. I also pressed down with a spatula because I was afraid it would fall apart when flipped. It did just fine! Cook until both sides are brown and the middle is cooked. You may need to reduce the heat to give the middle enough time to cook.
If you want it to look like Rudolph put a dot of ketchup for the red nose.
So whether you are making these for Christmas breakfast or for a Frozen themed breakfast, let me know if you try these.
Today I am joining some Bento Bloggers and Friends on a Holiday themed bento blog hop. Since we already had quite a bit of snow this year, I ended up with a Frosty themed lunch and snack.
My 10 year old nephew did all of the amazing drawing (food safe markers) on the snowman shaped cheese quesadilla and he ate this lunch.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cheese quesadillas with food safe marker details
Top Right: Snowmen shaped apples dipped in water with a splash of lemon to prevent browning
Bottom Right: Snowman doughnut – purchased mini powdered doughnut, added mini chocolate chips and carrot for nose
I wanted to make something else in the snowman theme so I made this fun snack. Thomas bagel thin with cream cheese, dried blueberries, and a dried apricot.
Please click on the button below to see what Jackie of Loving Lunches made to share with you.
I am not Jewish but I have an appreciation and interest in world cultures and religions. I made these Hanukkah lunches last year. This year I wanted to do something different so I looked at my Hanukkah cookie cutters for inspiration. It was not immediately apparent to me why there was a shield cookie cutter in my cookie cutter set. After researching it for awhile I found this activity and explanation. Hanukkah is the celebration of the Maccabees winning battles. They returned to Jerusalem and brought the Temple back to its Jewish roots of worship. My shield and Star of David represent this.
My 10 year old nephew ate this quesadilla lunch for lunch at home.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cheese quesadillas, shield – blue food coloring and water applied with a dedicated paint brush, lettering – food safe marker
Top Right: Dreidel shaped green bell pepper
Bottom Right: Clementines, pistachios
Today is Poinsettia Day so I made this simple Poinsettia themed lunch. It was easy to make and delicious.
Question: What are the second and third most popular Poinsettia colors? (answer is at the end of this post)
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Toasted Thomas’ English Muffins with cream cheese, mint leaves, and strawberries
Top Right: Cauliflower and Red Bell Pepper
Bottom Right: Air popped popcorn and Jolly Ranchers candy
Answer: white and pink
Linking to:
I don’t know why I made a Gingerbread man without a face. Looking at this photo afterwards I almost did not publish it.
This was a very simple but well received meal. My shaped bread meals tend to be popular with the people who eat them.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Gingerbread Man shaped homemade bread (french bread dough) with cinnamon
Top Right: Gingerbread Men shaped yellow bell pepper
Bottom Right: Red grapes
Not Pictured: Mini Dippers with cream cheese
This is not the dried blueberries I probably would have used but I think it looks better.
Face or no face? Which version do you prefer?
I am starting to decorate my house for Christmas so I made an ornament themed meal. Today I will probably start decorating my miniature trees. I have collected the Hallmark Miniature Ornaments since I was a kid.
I make a lot of lunches with cheese quesadillas. They are a popular food with everyone I make lunches for, the ingredients keep for awhile in my refrigerator, and they are versatile for making cute shapes.
This was my first time using a plunger stamp cookie cutter with apple slices. It worked great. I dipped the apple slices in water with a splash of lemon juice to prevent browning.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Christmas ornament cheese quesadilla with food marker details, spinach salad, toasted slivered almonds
Top Right: Christmas tree apples (made with a tree similar to this).
Bottom Right: Carrots with ranch dip (in small container)
Caution: While it is safe and fun to eat holly shaped food, actual holly leaves and berries can be toxic.
This week my garden club worked with holly and other fresh greens to make holiday table arrangements. We sell arrangements and wreaths at our annual fundraiser. I only have one holly bush in my yard. It does not have berries. I am not sure if it is a female or male holly bush but I would need both in my yard to get berries.
You can make simple holly shaped food using cookie cutters. (Cookies cutters are not only good for cookies!) I used two different sizes for this light lunch. It would also make a fun snack.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Holly shaped cheese quesadillas with food safe marker details
Top Right: Pomegranate seeds
Bottom Right: Cucumber cut into holly shapes
Recently I found Holiday Double Sided snow globe and snowflake cookie cutters at Target. I knew that I needed to make lunch with the snow globe. Since I thought that my readers would be just as excited I searched for a link but I could not find one on Target’s website. But the snow globe is included in this set.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Snowglobe almond butter sandwich on wheat bread, raw broccoli
Top Right: Clementines
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with colorful sprinkles
Linking to:
This year my 10 year old nephew and I each made Gingerbread houses for a contest in my town. Rules: they need to incorporate a candy cane, they can’t be larger than 12 inches by 12 inches, only the base can be non-edible, and it can’t be a purchased kit. The 10 years and younger category is the only category that can have adult help with making the dough, baking and assembly. My Dad cut two bases out of plywood for us. We covered them with heavy duty aluminum foil. They are very sturdy. Today I will bring them to the library for display and judging. I am a little nervous about transporting them.
Gingerbread Recipe: I used this recipe because it uses butter. Originally I thought about using Crisco Shortening but I read that it does not work the same since becoming healthier so I opted to take the safer path and use butter. I had used this recipe in the past and it is very easy to work with. I made the dough two days before and baked and assembled the houses one day before we decorated them.
Frosting Recipe: I did not want to deal with cracking and separating eggs so I used this recipe which uses Meringue Powder. It hardens fast and in general holds well (except for the regular sized candy canes on the roof line).
This is my nephews house. He drew a sketch of what he wanted it to look like and what materials I would need to buy. He did a great job and was happy when it was done! We used the Wilton Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set to cut the pieces. We did need to change one part of his design because the regular sized candy canes with a round peppermint candy on top of them would not stick to the house. They kept on falling off several hours later. So we used miniature candy canes and attached the round peppermint candy behind it.
My nephew used spearmint leaves candy as foliage around the house. The roof is frosted and has miniature M&M’s on the top.
We were not sure how these will be displayed and if people will look at the back. My nephew chose to keep the back of his house simple. I like it! His hands got a little tired but he did a great job piping the door and windows on the house.
He made a gingerbread sleigh out of gingerbread scraps that he cut to size. He used a small gingerbread man cookie cutter for the man. He glued miniature M&M’s for mittens. Miniature candy canes are the sleigh runners. Square gum became the front walkway.
I purchased bags of the large peppermint sticks at the Dollar Tree. He used them with gumdrops for a fence, to trim the house and walk, and to make the large front doors. Miniature M&M’s are the door knobs.
This is my entry for the 19 and older category (the first photo in this post shows another view of my house). I decided on an A-frame style house because I never tried this type before and I liked the large roof. Also when I was growing up my Grandparents had an A-frame house as their summer home. I used the roof pieces from the Wilton Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set and created two triangular pieces. I was a little off with my templates so one side is raised up with some gumdrops (my husband’s idea) and a lot of frosting is on the roof so you can’t see the gap between the two pieces. I crushed candy canes and added them to the roof. This photo actually shows the back of my house.
This is the front of my house. I made a balcony out of gingerbread scraps and lined it with PEZ candy. I did not know if the judges wanted a literal interpretation of the candy cane theme so in addition to crushed candy canes on my roof, I used them as little fences in the back and front of my house. I used red, green, and white rock shaped candy for my front and back walks. Small red candy lines my front and back doors. I used two peppermint candies for the chimney.
This close-up of the back of my house, shows the gumdrops I used as foliage and the sugar ice cream cones I used for trees. I tinted some frosting green and it was very easy to make these cute trees.
My nephew had fun crushing the candy canes for me. We put them in a large Ziplock bag and he used my marble rolling pin to crush the candy canes. It made a lot of noise but it smelled great and he had a good time. I made a mess while putting the crushed candy canes on the freshly frosted roof (I had wax paper underneath and tilted my house but candy cane pieces went everywhere including on my floor). But I am very pleased with the look.
I know, this is very simple and not the best looking gingerbread house lunch since it is monochromatic and not colorful and fun. But we left the color and creativity to our gingerbread houses. Also on a busy day of decorating, it was a easy lunch to make. I actually made two versions of this (mine had a lot of scraps).
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Gingerbread house Cheddar cheese quesadilla with food marker details, candy canes. I used a cookie cutter similar to this but you could easily cut the quesadilla to your desired shape.
Top Right: Carrots and green bell pepper cut into candy cane shapes with a mini cutter
Bottom Right: Gingerbread men shaped apples cut with a mini gingerbread man cutter, I dipped them in water with some lemon juice to prevent browning
We had a fantastic time making our gingerbread houses and I look forward to seeing the other entries in the contest. We already are winners for spending time and creating edible art together.
In honor of Charles Schulz birthday, I have a Snoopy themed bento. I made this for my 12 year old nephew for dinner at home. I am thankful that my nieces and nephews of any age enjoy eating my bento meals. I enjoy sharing my love of cute food with them.
This also happens to be my 500th post! It is difficult to believe that I have created so many. I am thankful to my readers for encouraging me along the way.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Snoopy – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, spinach details, red bell pepper heart, Woodstock – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese and yellow food coloring, spinach details, Hee! Ha! – mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese, carrot letters
Top Right: Raspberries
Bottom Right: Brazil nuts
Linking to:
In time for Thanksgiving I made a simple lunch with a little bread shaped turkey.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Turkey shaped bread with food marker details
Bottom Left: Broccoli
Bottom Right: Plain Greek Yogurt with some yogurt dyed orange and frozen in a pumpkin shaped ice cube tray
I received some cute fox cookie cutters from my sister for my birthday in August. I finally got around to using one. The fox is cooked and mashed carrots. The snow is mashed potatoes with a little butter and a lot of shredded cheddar cheese. This meal can be heated (warm applesauce is delicious) or eaten cold – depends on your preference.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Fox – cooked and mashed carrots placed in a fox shaped cookie cutter. Snow – carefully spoon cheddar mashed potatoes around the cookie cutter. Then, carefully lift off the cookie cutter.
Top Right: Applesauce
Bottom Right: Green peas (these were frozen – they will defrost by lunch if you decide to eat this cold)
Linking to:
Today is Homemade Bread Day so of course I had to make a shaped bread bento. I started baking bread when I was 12. I love working with the dough, the smell of it baking, and of course eating it afterwards.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Fish shaped bread using a basic dough of flour, yeast, salt and water, food marker details, cheddar cheese stick
Top Right: Fish shaped carrots (used cookie cutter), cucumber
Bottom Right: Red grapes
I made this lunch for my 14 year old nephew to bring to school for lunch. He requested taco salad.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Lettuce, Mexican Cheese Blend, Salsa in Mini Dippers (I put the top on after taking the photo)
Top Right: Skittles
Bottom Right: Black beans with sauteed onion and some tomato sauce
Out of the Box: Banana, Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Not Pictured: Mini Dippers with Taco Sauce, mixed nuts
Over the summer for my birthday a friend gave me the Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook. I love that it includes nutritional information for the recipes. I made the Broccoli-Cheese Wrap filling recipe with pasta for dinner with planned leftovers for lunch. It was delicious! Next time I want to try it in a wrap.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Broccoli-Cheese filling with pasta (the filling contains: broccoli, sauteed onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, ricotta, mozzarella, feta, salt and pepper)
Top Right: Sunflower seeds
Bottom Right: Strawberries
Tonight I will take 2 nephews to see the movie Big Hero 6. I made this Baymax as part of dinner for one of my nephews (the other does not like mashed potatoes).
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Baymax (mashed potatoes, cheddar cheese, and a little butter, salt, black food coloring), spinach leaves Tip: try to make your mashed potatoes a little stiff and chill in your refrigerator until it is easier to shape.
Top Right: Pistachos
Bottom Right: Clementine (Big Hero 6 written with food safe marker), pistachos
My husband enjoyed his last snack bento lunch so much that I made another one.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Above Box: Banana
Left Side: Goldfish Pretzels, raisins, Ritz snack mix, carrots
Top Right: Dill Pickles
Bottom Right: Hard boiled eggs
This was an easy and delicious sandwich lunch I made for myself.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Pretzel roll purchased at my Wegmans grocery store with Dijon mustard and Swiss cheese, sugar snap peas.
Top Right: Pistachio nuts
Bottom Right: Blueberries
This lunch was made over the summer with a tomato from my neighbor’s garden. I love cottage cheese with fresh tomatoes.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Mixed lettuce and spinach salad with carrots, tomato filled with cottage cheese and sprinkled with Vermont Country Seasoning.
Top Right: Slivered almonds
Bottom Right: Strawberries
I love tomatoes and feta and this lunch came together fast with ingredients I had in my house.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Yellow, orange, and red grape tomatoes, feta cheese, a little olive oil, salt and pepper
Top Right: Blueberries and slivered almonds
Bottom Right: French bread
I needed to pack a lunch for myself and did not have much in the house. So I toasted a freezer waffle. I enjoyed it and would make it again.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Toasted Frozen Belgian waffle, cheddar cheese
Top Right: Blueberries and peach
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon
I made this easy lunch for my 16 year old niece on a day that we were out and about.
Container: Wooden box purchased in Kyoto at Bento&co.
Contents: Nishiki rice with black beans and salsa, cooked broccoli
I enjoy handing out treats to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Usually around 250 – 300 kids come to my door in a 2 hour period on Halloween night. This year we had 244 but it was cool and a little rainy.
This year my parents visited for Halloween. I believe that you don’t need to have kids to carve a pumpkin. My mom, dad, and I each carved a pumpkin.
Halloween morning when reading the news I learned about the Teal Pumpkin Project. So I searched my craft room for the closest paint I had to teal, quickly painted my pumpkin, printed out the sign, and gathered some non-food items. I was glad that I learned about this project when a mom noticed my pumpkin and asked about the non-food treats. Her son had food allergies and my teal pumpkin was the first one she found that night in my town. He picked out a glowing finger.
This is a basket of some non-food items I gathered: glow fingers, bouncy balls, stickers, mini puzzles.
I have a tradition of handing out something special to my first 25 trick-or-treaters. This year I did not make a craft for them but I gave out large candy bars to the first 30 kids. The Reese’s and Kit-Kats went first and then the Hershey bars.
I hand-out a variety of treats. Pretzels, cheese balls, chocolate.
Potato chips and Goldfish
Popcorn balls, coffee filter bundles with chocolate.
It was a fun evening and the kids seemed to enjoy the treats they received!
I made this easy bento for my 16 year old niece to take to school. She loved the fun book box and it’s contents!
Container: Book Bento Box
Contents: Onigiri filled with black beans and salsa, spinach face details, broccoli, baby carrots, green grapes, blackberries
My niece turned 16 this week. I made this “sweet” themed bento for her to bring to school for lunch on her birthday. She loved it!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cooked Nishiki rice, cooked broccoli and cauliflower (in a little vegetable broth). I used an ice cream cone cookie cutter to shape the vegetables, placed rice around the cookie cutter, then carefully lifted off the cookie cutter. I sprinkled a little bit of paprika on top of the rice.
Top Right: Junior Mints
Bottom Right: Yellow bell pepper (cut with cupcake cookie cutter), edamame
Outside of Box: Nutella to Go
I was inspired by Little Caesars Soft Pretzel Crust Pizza commercial to try it. I don’t have any Little Caesars locations near my house so my only option was to try making it myself. Mine does not look as beautiful as theirs. Also I like my pizza crust thin and crispy so I am not sure why I liked the idea of pretzel pizza. This was a planned dinner with leftovers for lunch meal. I would not make this again but if you like deep dish or soft pizza crust you may enjoy making these.
I mostly followed this pretzel recipe but made small rounds (easier to boil and will fit in a lunch box). I cooked the pretzel rounds plain for about 8 minutes (time will vary depending on the size of your round). I then sprinkled the edge with salt, spread with tomato sauce and covered with cheese. I then continued baking until the bottom of the crust was brown and cheese melted.
Basic Instructions: Follow a soft pretzel recipe but make small rounds and only sprinkle salt on the edge. Bake for part of the cooking time, take rounds out of the oven and add sauce and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and the crust is done to your liking.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Pretzel crust pizza with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese
Top Right: Carrots
Bottom Right: Apple
Today I am sharing 5 different lunches that used the same cookie cutters. I bought the fork and spoon at the Seria 100 Yen Store on my trip to Japan last March. I was so excited to find these two cute cutters for less than $1.00.
I made this lunch for my husband. I am guessing that he put the fork and spoon back in the bread before eating it but I am really not sure.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Peanut butter and black raspberry jam on wheat bread, fork and spoon cut-outs
Top Right: Greek yogurt, cinnamon
Bottom Right: Synder’s Pretzel Spoonz
Top of Box: Banana
I made this pasta lunch for my 15 year old niece.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Broccoli and slivered almonds
Bottom Left: Blueberries
Right Side: Pasta with tomato sauce, Naan bread fork
I made this quick lunch for myself. The cheese fork and spoon made it fun.
Container: LunchBots Trio
Top Left: Chickpeas
Top Right: Rice with Cheddar cheese fork and spoon
Bottom: Raspberries and snowpeas
I made this place setting quesadilla lunch for myself.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Cheese quesadilla with food marker details, cheddar cheese fork, knife, and spoon
Bottom Left: Blueberries
Bottom Right: Dry Roasted Edamame
I asked for help when brainstorming ways to use my fork and spoon cookie cutters. My 10 year old nephew gave me the idea for this meal.
Hey diddle diddle, The Cat and the fiddle, The Cow jumped over the moon.
The little Dog laughed, To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the Spoon
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Green and red butter lettuce, dish (tortilla with food safe marker), spoon (Colby-jack cheese)
Top Right: Baby carrots with dog (cucumber), Ha Ha – laughing picks
Bottom Right: Cow (Pepper-jack cheese), moon (Colby-jack cheese)
I hope that this article inspired you to play with your food. If you want to make sure you don’t miss what I will make next, please subscribe to my blog by email. Thanks!
I am a nearly lifelong vegetarian. When people hear that I am a vegetarian they often worry about the amount of protein I eat. There are many thoughts on protein including that most people eat too much protein but here are 5 vegetarian meals (1 vegan) with a load of protein. So no matter what reason you have for looking for a meatless meal that contains a lot of protein, please enjoy these delicious meals.
In these meals I feature quinoa, lasagna, angel hair pasta, couscous, chickpeas, and lentils. Side dishes include Greek yogurt, Kind bar, pumpkin seeds, edamame, ricotta cheese, and sunflower seeds. The containers used are EasyLunchBoxes. When preparing healthy meals at home or on the go EasyLunchBoxes helps make the meal convenient and attractive.
These meals contain between 21 and 26 grams of protein.
This satisfying meal is low on calories but high on protein (21 grams). I enjoyed this Quinoa & Black Beans recipe from Eating Well and plan to eat it again soon.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Quinoa & Black Beans – 162 cal, 6 grams protein
Top Right: Raspberries and blueberries
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon – 90 cal, 15 grams protein
I developed this recipe myself. I made it somewhat plain but I still found it to be delicious. Of course you can season to your own taste. This meal contains 26 grams of protein.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Lasagna roll-up with tomato sauce – 326 calories, 24 grams protein
Top Right: 1/2 of a Almond and Coconut Kind bar – 95 calories, 2 grams protein
Bottom Right: Spinach leaves and carrots – low calories, small amount of protein
Easy Lasagna Roll-up (1 serving)
1 cooked lasagna noodle – 86 cal, 3 grams protein
4 oz. Cottage cheese – 90 cal, 10 grams protein
Dried herbs, salt & pepper
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese – 80 cal, 8 grams protein
1 cup Tomato Sauce – 70 calories, 3 grams protein
Preheat oven to 375. Spread some tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Mix cottage cheese and herbs. Spread cottage cheese mixture on cooked lasagna noodle and roll it up. Carefully place in baking dish, seam side down. Spread some tomato sauce on top of the lasagna roll-up. Sprinkle the top of the lasagna roll-up with Mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the tomato sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted.
This Cold Peanut Noodle salad is a favorite recipe in my house. I choose high protein sides so this Vegan meal contains 26 grams of protein.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cold Peanut Noodles with Cucumber – 290 calories, 11 grams protein
Top Right: 15 grams pumpkin seeds – 85 calories, 4 grams protein
Bottom Right: 100 grams edamame – 120 calories, 11 grams protein
I found this couscous recipe to be a little dry but you can add lemon juice or more oil if you want. This meal has 25 grams of protein.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Couscous Salad with Chickpeas – 351 calories, 11 grams protein
Top Right: 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese with cinnamon – 216 calories, 14 grams protein
Bottom Right: Apple
This lentil and feta salad has been a favorite of mine for a long time. I prefer it with more vegetables and less lentils but this time I made it as the recipe is written to include more protein. This meal has 26 grams of protein.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Lentil Salad with Feta Cheese – 309 calories, 20 grams protein
Top Right: 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds – 186 calories, 6 grams protein
Bottom Right: Green grapes
No matter your reason for eating more protein, I hope that you can enjoy some of these meals for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast as part of a healthy meal plan.
Disclaimer:
I am not a nutritionist. I planned these meals based on previous knowledge and internet research. Since many sources have varying nutritional information for the same item, I do not guarantee the calorie and protein counts.
Today I am sharing 10 new Halloween lunches. I made these for my husband, friend’s daughter, my Mom, my Dad, and myself. I enjoy making cute food for anyone who will eat it and luckily I have no trouble finding volunteers. In this article, I feature quesadillas, pizza, sandwiches, and a calzone.
I made this spider themed lunch for my Dad since I knew that I wanted to make a deviled egg and he likes them.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with food marker details, salsa in a Mini Dipper (I put the top on after taking the photo)
Top Right: Blackberries
Bottom Right: Deviled egg cut with crinkle cutter, black olive spider
I made this candy corn themed lunch for my Mom. I modified the recipe a little to make it more crispy than the original recipe.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Candy Corn Quesadilla (I basically used this recipe but did not use chicken and cooked it for 10 minutes before putting the cheese on top and used Gouda instead of the Tillamook cheese)
Top Right: Pineapple and coconut
Bottom Right: Air popped popcorn with orange and yellow Reese’s Pieces
I made this friendly ghost lunch for myself. The picks were from Lindt Halloween chocolates.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Ghost shaped cheese quesadillas with melted chocolate chip eyes, salad mix
Top Right: Diced cucumbers and tomatoes
Bottom Right: Red grapes
I made this Jack-o-Lantern calzone for myself. It was so much fun to make and eat.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Calzone made with pizza dough and filled with ricotta cheese, spinach, and a lot of pepper), I cut pumpkin face details with cookie cutters. I then baked it.
Bottom Left: Pumpkin shaped melon
Bottom Right: Almonds
Mini Dipper: Pizza sauce
I made this simple lunch for myself using CuteZCute Cuddle Palz.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Tiger CuteZCute Cuddle Palz wheat sandwich with almond butter, mini cheese pumpkins made with a cookie cutter and Colby-jack cheese
Top Right: Cantaloupe
Bottom Right: Sugar snap peas
My husband ate this pizza ghost lunch. He especially enjoyed the ghost strawberries.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Ghost shaped cheese pizza (without sauce)
Top Right: Strawberries with white candy melts and semi-sweet chocolate details. I was inspired by this.
Bottom Right: Salad with radish pumpkins
I made this for myself because there was no one else around on the day that I wanted to make it. Skulls are not my favorite but I am very pleased with how it tasted and looked. I was inspired by Organized Bites to put Trader Joe’s Baked Cheese Crunchies behind the sandwich.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Skull sandwich with wheat bread, peanut butter, and strawberry jam, Trader Joe’s Baked Cheese Crunchies
Top Right: Cantaloupe
Bottom Right: Sugar snap peas
When I asked my friend’s daughter what type of Halloween bento she wanted, she said “black cat”. I was happy to make this lunch for her.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Peanut butter on pumpernickel bread cat, matchstick carrots, Cheddar cheese jack-o-lanterns with food marker details
Top Right: Cheez-It’s Scrabble Junior crackers
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries
I made this skull pizza meal for husband. I added the “bones” because he likes chocolate covered pretzels.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Skull shaped pizza with basil details, spinach (background)
Top Right: White candy melts covered pretzel sticks (bones), plain pretzel sticks (underneath)
Bottom Right: Blackberries
I made these happy Jack-o-lantern quesadillas for myself.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Jack-o-lantern cheese quesadillas (I cut the face out of one side using a Jack-o-lantern cookie cutter, I then browned it by itself on my stove with cooking spray on the pan. Afterwards, I cooked the pumpkin shape with cheese and the cooked Jack-o-lantern cut-out on top at low heat until melted.
Top Right: Snow peas
Bottom Right: Blackberries and orange segments
I hope that you now have a few Halloween themed food ideas to make in your own kitchen. Enjoy!
Linking to:
My 17 year old nephew likes pumpkin pie so when I thought about making a lunch with pumpkin, I immediately thought of him. I made this lunch and gave it to him in time to take to school. He was very thankful!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top of Photo: Homemade pumpkin flavored cream cheese (I used less sugar and I actually gave him two Mini Dippers of this), pumpkin yogurt
Left Side: Homemade sesame and poppy seed bagels
Top Right: Butter lettuce salad with carrots
Bottom Right: Miniature pumpkin pies – my nephew liked these, I also gave some to my husband and he said that they were missing a spice. He was right the recipe did not call for ginger which is a common ingredient in pumpkin pie
Some people may not understand it but I truly enjoy making and eating cute food. So of course, I made some new Fall/Autumn themed lunches. This collection includes quinoa, sandwich, quesadilla, vegetable potato salad, pizza, onigiri, tortilla chips, and rice lunch ideas.
I made this delicious meal for myself. I used a mini acorn cookie cutter as my stencil for the paprika.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cooked quinoa with shredded white Cheddar cheese, acorn stencils with hot paprika
Top Right: Snow peas with leaf pick made from a sticker and toothpick
Bottom Right: Squirrel shaped melon
This is one of my favorite leaf themed meals. I get so much pleasure from making things with my hands. Cutting out the oak leaf shapes from potato and bell pepper was relaxing and memorable. This lunch was previously published here.
I made this simple owl themed lunch for my husband.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread with white and orange Cheddar cheese details, pupils drawn with food safe marker, ears are made from the crust.
Top Right: Cashews
Bottom Right: Raspberries
I made these leaf pizzas as a planned lunch on a night that I made pizza for dinner.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Fall leaf shaped pizza with red and yellow bell pepper
Top Right: Colby-Jack cheese leaf cut-outs
Bottom Right: Apple leaf cut-outs with cinnamon
I love the shape of the Ginkgo leaf and longtime readers know that I enjoy making lunches with quesadillas. This Ginkgo shaped quesadilla lunch was previously published here.
I wanted to make some leaf onigiri so made this for myself for dinner. It was delicious!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Zucchini sauteed in water with Knorr Homestyle Vegetable Stock, leaf onigiri made with cooked Nishiki rice and cookie cutters, cinnamon is on the left leaf, hot paprika is on the right leaf
Top Right: Cashews
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon
This lunch was an experiment. I used shredded carrot mixed with hot Nishiki rice to form this maple leaf. I did not love the carrot rice but I also don’t like to drink carrot juice. If you love carrots, you may enjoy carrots with rice. Red lettuce made a striking background. It was previously published here.
These open-faced cream cheese and cinnamon oak leaf sandwiches were made from Naan bread.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cream cheese and cinnamon on Naan bread
Top Right: Applesauce
Bottom Right: Tomato, feta, paprika
I made this leaf sandwich for the daughter of a friend. It was previously published here.
Another simple quinoa lunch with a leaf stencil.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Quinoa with melted Cheddar cheese, leaf cookie cutter used as stencil with hot paprika
Top Right: Blueberries
Bottom Right: Cherry tomatoes
These leaf shaped tortilla chips and salsa made a wonderful lunch on a sunny fall day. It was previously published here.
My niece made this squirrel in a tree lunch it was previously published here.
I am not thrilled with this falling leaves lunch but decided to include it anyway. I used cinnamon in the cream cheese instead of using dye but it does not stand out much from the color of the rice.
Container: ECO Lunchboxes
Main Container: Cooked rice, broccoli stalk, cinnamon cream cheese, cooked beets
Round Container: Cashews
I hope that you enjoyed seeing my fall themed lunch ideas. If you want to continue seeing my creations, please subscribe to my blog via email. Thanks!
I made this lunch for my husband. I decided to make a snack themed lunch to give him something different. He enjoyed it so I am now planning another one.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Pretzels, Town House Crackers, Cheddar cheese, cashews
Top Right: Celery with Peanut Butter
Bottom Right: Raspberries
Not in Photo: Yogurt
I enjoy coming up with new shapes for homemade bread. I had fun matching the fruit and vegetables to this theme.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cat shaped bread with food marker details, peanut butter in Mini Dipper
Top Right: Carrots shaped as fish, sugar snap peas
Bottom Right: Strawberry mice without tails
I made this lunch for my husband. He also had another pumpkin bread and yogurt. This was my first time making my own cinnamon cream cheese. I just added cinnamon and a little bit of sugar to softened cream cheese.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Homemade pumpkin shaped bread with a piece of pecan for the stem, sugar snap peas, cream cheese with cinnamon in a Mini Dipper
Top Right: Red grapes
Bottom Right: Pumpkin Pretzels (I made a quick and easier version, not as beautiful but my husband did not complain)
Today was Shel Silverstein’s birthday so along with some of my Bento Bloggers and Friends we are having a bento blog hop. I love The Giving Tree book so it was a natural choice for my lunch theme.
My husband ate this meal. For artistic purposes it does not have a lot of food but he had several more pretzels, cheese, and yogurt on the side with this meal. It was his idea to make soft pretzels for the tree trunk. My nephews were visiting when I made the pretzels (I timed it so I would have help eating them) and one mentioned that the pretzel was bent; that was my goal. I struggled with how to make the tree stump that is found at the end of the book. Somehow I remembered Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. My grandmother who is now 97 loves them.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Tree: Homemade soft pretzel, spinach leaves
Apples: Cherry tomatoes with leaf picks
Tree Stump: Little Debbie Swiss Rolls cut in half and stuck together with a little bit of chocolate frosting, chocolate frosting details
Mini Dippers: Mustard
Please click on the button below to continue on this hop to see what Venia from Organized Bites created.
Today is Elephant Appreciation Day so it seems like a perfect time to share elephant shaped food. Today I have 7 new food ideas with elephants and 3 previously published ones. Elephants were my sister’s favorite animal when we were growing up. Her favorite stuffed animal was Ellie the elephant. I used many different techniques in this compilation: sculpted mashed potatoes, cookie cutters (pizza, sandwich, vegetables, fruit, pancakes, tortilla chips), stencil, homemade bread, and rice ball.
I enjoy making bread and am always looking for new themes to try. I blogged about this elephant bread lunch here.
I made this elephant tortilla chips and hummus lunch for myself. I often make shaped tortilla chips but for this lunch with tortilla chips and hummus I was influenced by this from Eats Amazing.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Elephant shaped tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes
Top Right: Hummus with hot paprika
Bottom Right: Elephant shaped apple slices with cinnamon
I made this for my nephew on a day we went to the zoo. This lunch was previously published here.
I made these pancake elephants for my 10 year old nephew for lunch at home. I used an elephant cookie cutter when pouring the pancake batter but it did not work out great so I also cut them with the cutter after cooking. I think that they ended up cute but it was not a quick and easy process.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Elephant shaped pancakes, maple syrup in Mini Dipper
Top Right: Red bell pepper
Bottom Right: Green grapes with elephant pick
My husband ate this lunch on a day we went to the zoo. This lunch was previously published here.
We made this as part of various animal fruit kabobs for a Zoo themed Baby Shower (fruit kabob with elephant shaped melon, blueberry, watermelon, and pineapple)
My husband ate this pasta elephant bento for dinner. I did not have any fresh fruit in the house but had some cookies in the freezer.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Elbow pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese. Red and green bell pepper elephant shapes.
Top Right: Red and green bell pepper elephant shapes.
Bottom Right: Snickerdoodle cookies
I was thrilled with how my mashed potato Babar turned out. He looks more informal than his suit from the books – maybe he is wearing pajamas. When I was a child I was not a fan of Babar but my friend had the books. I was inspired to make Babar as part of this collection after reading BentOnBetterLunches World Elephant Day post. Recently, I borrowed Bonjour, Babar! from the library (6 classics). I enjoyed reading them and so did my nephews when they visited.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Babar: Head – mashed potatoes with a little butter, shredded Cheddar cheese, and a tiny bit of Wilton black food coloring gel (I shaped the mashed potatoes after it chilled in the refrigerator for awhile), Tusks – white Cheddar, Crown – orange Cheddar cheese, Eyes – I dipped a toothpick into black food coloring gel, Body – mashed potatoes with a little butter, shredded Cheddar cheese and cooked broccoli.
Top Right: Roasted Soybeans
Bottom Right: Sliced strawberries and blueberries
I wanted to make an elephant onigiri so I made this meal for my husband. It did not turn out as cute as I had pictured it in my head.
Container: LunchBots Trio
Top Left: Elephant onigiri (rice ball), dried blueberry (eyes), lettuce
Top Right: Lettuce mix with Colby-jack cheese (cut up scraps from another lunch), sliced almonds
Bottom: Red grapes
I made this meal for myself. I found it delicious and satisfying.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Quinoa with shredded Cheddar cheese (melted in the hot quinoa), hot paprika sprinkled on mama and baby elephant stencil that I printed onto card stock and cut-out with a craft knife.
Bottom Left: Roasted zucchini with pine nuts
Bottom Right: Raspberries (from freezer – they look a little frosty in this photo)
I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed preparing it for you. If you want to receive my blog updates, please subscribe by email.
Arrr! I have two lunches today for Talk Like a Pirate Day, a Lego pirate and a pirate map pizza.
I made this for my 10 year old nephew for lunch at home. We were not sure if this would be good enough to blog. But in the end I decided to share it. I thought that I had a plastic pirate sword but could not find it. I made one from candy melts but it turned out a little strange.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Lego Pirate (Naan bread covered with cream cheese, painted on food coloring for face and body, peg-leg is cinnamon, white candy melt eye and detail on shirt, semi-sweet chocolate hat with white chocolate skull, sword is white candy melt with a little black food coloring), cheese quesadilla (background)
Top Right: Cucumber
I made this for my husband’s lunch (for the next day) at the same time that I made a pizza dinner.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Pirate map pizza (tomato sauce, mozzeralla cheese, red pepper, green pepper, mushroom, zucchini) – there are two map pizzas in this lunch.
Top Right: Pirate treasure chest chocolate with white and semi-sweet chocolate
Bottom Right: Sliced celery with Monkey Pirate pick (sticker that I stuck to a toothpick)
Bottom Right: Strawberries
I did not start playing taking piano lessons until I was in the 4th grade. I remember thinking that my Mom should have put me in lessons much earlier. I thought that I was too old to start taking music lessons. But after I asked for lessons she did find a piano teacher for me and I took lessons through high school.
I made these lunches over the summer when I spent a lot of time with my niece and nephews. Many of these instrument and music themed lunches are very basic. I tried to include instruments that kids often study: piano, French horn, cello, voice, saxophone, guitar, trumpet, tuba, harp, violin, and drum.
Piano
My 15 year old niece made this piano out of nori (seaweed) for herself.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Cherries
Bottom Left: Green beans
Right Side: Cooked Nishiki rice, nori, music picks
French Horn
My 12 year old nephew plays the French Horn so I made this lunch for him.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Raspberries
Top Right: Pretzel Crisps
Bottom: Brazil nuts (in Mini Dipper), French Horn strawberry jam sandwich on wheat bread, green beans
Cello
I made this for my 12 year old niece. She plays the cello.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cello pita sandwich with nutella and food marker details, almonds and cashews
Top Right: Carrots
Bottom Right: Cherries
Voice
I thought that voice would be a good addition to this collection so I made this lunch for myself (I am not a good singer).
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Broccoli, rice, cheese singer with food marker details, cheese notes
Top Right: Black beans with sauteed onions
Bottom Right: Plain Greek yogurt with blueberries
Saxophone
I made this lunch for my 14 year old nephew.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Green beans
Bottom Left: Blueberries
Right Side: Walnuts, Pretzel Crisps, Saxaphone strawberry jam sandwich on wheat bread
Guitar
I made this cheese mashed potatoes guitar lunch for my 12 year old nephew.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Mashed potato and cheddar cheese guitar with black olive details, spinach leaves
Top Right: Blackberry yogurt with fruit flat musical note
Bottom Right: Green grapes
Trumpet
I made this lunch for my 10 year old nephew.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Trumpet strawberry jam sandwich on wheat bread, orange bell pepper, red bell pepper
Bottom Left: Bugles
Bottom Right: Blueberries
Musical Notes
I love the combination of pasta, beets, and blue cheese but I don’t like my pasta to get pink. My LunchBots trio was the perfect box for this lunch I made for myself.
Container: LunchBots Trio
Top Left: Penne pasta with blue cheese
Top Right: Spinach leaves and musical note shaped beets (I used a cookie cutter)
Bottom: Pistachios
Tuba
My 15 year old niece plays the Tuba so I made this lunch for her.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Peanuts
Bottom Left: Raspberries
Right Side: Tuba strawberry jam sandwich on wheat bread, salad
Harp
This is supposed to be a harp. I packed it on a day that I packed food for my Mom and 12 year old niece to eat while they were out and about. They did not know what this was supposed to be. Their guesses were Hershey Kiss or heart.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Cottage cheese with peaches
Bottom Left: Green grapes
Right Side: Harp Pita with nutella (food marker details), carrots
Violin
I made this violin lunch for myself.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Walnuts
Top Right: Pretzel Crisps
Bottom: Radish, strawberries, Violin peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread
Treble Clef
My niece designed and ate this lunch, we made it together. It represents the lines and spaces of the Treble Clef – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and Fantastic Americans Crave Enchiladas
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Enchiladas with black beans, sauteed onion, and cheddar cheese, salsa, Treble Clef on tortilla with food marker details, letter picks
Top Right: This is supposed to be fudge. I wanted to buy fudge but it was difficult to find this time of year. I quickly made fudge but the consistency is wrong so I guess my candy thermometer was wrong or I messed it up somehow.
Bottom Right: Cucumber boy with matchstick carrots
Bass Clef
My niece designed this lunch, we made it together (my 10 year old nephew drew the markings on the cow), and my 10 year old nephew ate this meal. It represents the Bass Clef – All Cows Eat Grass and Good Boys Do Fine Always
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Bass Clef cheese quesadilla, food marker lines, Bass Clef symbol flour tortilla with food marker details, letter picks
Top Right: Grass (snowpeas)
Bottom Right: Cow (cheddar cheese with food marker details), matchstick carrots
Drum
This is supposed to be a drum. I gave this lunch to my 12 year old nephew.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Onigiri (rice) drum with cheese details, matchstick carrots
Top Right: Walnuts
Bottom Right: Blueberries
Which musical instrument did you play or does your child play? Did I include it here?
Friday night my husband and I took two nephews to see the movie Dolphin Tale 2. So of course I made my 10 year old nephew this dolphin themed meal. My 12 year old nephew had some snacks and dessert because he ate pizza at an after school party.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Dolphin shaped cheese quesadillas (he ate the scraps on the side), blueberries
Top Right: Orange bell pepper with Winter the dolphin pick
Bottom Right: Red, White and Blue Goldfish crackers
I am joining my Bento Bloggers and Friends on this Roald Dahl Day Hop. Please use the button at the end of this post to continue on to see the other Dahl themed lunches in this hop.
When researching books written by Roald Dahl, I found The Enormous Crocodile. As soon as I saw the cover I decided that I wanted to make crocodile shaped spinach bread. I borrowed the book from my library and read it in preparation for making this lunch.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Crocodile Spinach and Parmesan bread with string cheese teeth and eyes (food marker pupils), blueberries
Bottom Left: Cucumber slices with “DAHL” letter picks
Bottom Right: Hummus with orange and red bell pepper “kids”. In the story the crocodile wants to eat children.
Please continue on the hop to see Keitha’s fabulous creation at Keitha’s Chaos.
My 15 year old niece requested this lunch. She wanted a main course pie and pie for dessert. I love getting food requests and enjoyed making this meal. My husband had it for dinner the night before and this meal was planned leftovers for lunch.
My husband and niece loved this zucchini and cheese pie with potato crust. Since I am particular about eggs in things, I liked that this does not use eggs. Most similar recipes call for eggs.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Zucchini Cheese Pie with Potato Crust (I reduced the scallions, onions, and did not use the bay leaves), spinach leaves
Top Right: Pistachios
Bottom Right: Mini Peach Pies (I made my own pie crust)
Here are some (mostly easy) ideas for making a sandwich more fun to eat. Most of these techniques are quick to make. Try these at home or in a packed lunch.
1. Fun Picks – Just stick a pick in it. Eye picks make a fast and fun face sandwich. I added a pea pick for the mouth. You can buy picks at BentoUSA or Eats Amazing UK.
2. Cookie Cutter with 2 types of bread – In this example I used wheat and pumpernickel breads. We normally eat wheat bread but I keep pumpernickel bread in my freezer to have on hand for fun details or something different. I served the wheat bread bat with the lunch. There are so many possibilities with this technique. You are only limited by your cookie cutters and types of bread that you and your kids will eat.
3. Sugar Shape – Use a cookie cutter, a little butter and colored decorating sugar to make your sandwich standout from the crowd. In the example below I pressed a star shaped cookie cutter into my top piece of bread. Then, I added a little bit of butter and carefully sprinkled colored sugar inside the cookie cutter.
Here is a basic photo tutorial.
4. Carrot Letters – This technique takes a little bit of time but not too long. I actually find it relaxing to cut shapes out of food. Think of all of the words you can spell with carrot letters! Thinly slice carrots and cut letters with small cookie cutters. If you will not transport your sandwich upright the letters may shift but you can “glue” them on with some Peanut Butter or WowButter. You can also pack a cloth napkin on top to help prevent shifting. I previously published this lunch here.
5. Cheese – Adding cheese in a cute shape is a tasty way to add fun to your sandwich. The example below actually shows several techniques (cheese, food marker, and carrot). I used a knife and two different colored cheeses to make this ship. I drew details on the sail with food safe marker. This lunch was previously published here.
6. Candy Eyes and Food Marker – This is really two techniques. Occasionally I like to use food safe markers to draw on my food. I use Americolor food coloring markers. The eyes in this example are Wilton Candy Eyeballs. If you are concerned about the eyes moving, you can try to glue them on with Peanut Butter or WowButter.
7. Cookie Cutter Shape Cut-Out – This simple technique adds a lot of visual appeal. Use a cookie cutter to cut a shape and show the sandwich filling underneath. I previously published this lunch here.
8. Sprinkle Shapes – There are so many sprinkle shapes available to add fun to your sandwich. This technique is best if you will serve the sandwich at home or carry the sandwich flat (not sideways) in your bag.
9. Dried Fruit – Make your sandwich special with dried fruit. In this example I used dried blueberries for the eyes and nose and half of a dried apricot for the mouth. It was fast and easy but so cute!
10. Toast Stamp – The toast stamp in the example was actually in a set of two that I found in a dollar store. I pressed the stamp into the top slice of bread. Then I toasted both pieces of bread. This lunch was originally published here.
I hope that this article will inspire you to easily transform your sandwich into something fun to eat. Whether you try one technique or combine several techniques you are only limited by your imagination and what you or your kids will eat.
Linking to:
Here is another featured ingredient lunch. I made this for my 10 year old nephew. He was not a fan of the maple vinaigrette but I liked it. I had house guests for breakfast the same morning and served them the apple muffins as part of their breakfast. A planned leftover muffin made this an easy lunch.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Lettuce with slivered almonds, apple (dipped in water with some lemon juice), cheddar cheese
Top Right: Apple with cinnamon
Bottom Right: Apple Streusel Muffin – without the glaze
Today is National Skyscraper Day so I made two different themed lunches. They may not look like skyscrapers but I made them for myself and they were enjoyable meals.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Polenta with black beans
Top Right: Cashews
Bottom Right: Green grapes
This was my attempt at a famous skyscraper in NYC but I will not name it because I think that my result does not look like it. But this was a fun and enjoyable meal that I prepared for myself.
Container: LunchBots Trio
Left Side: Cheese quesadilla with food safe marker details
Top Right: Black beans with cucumber stars
Bottom Right: Salad with carrot and sunflower seeds
I made this simple lunch for my husband on a day that I made a different shaped bread meal for someone else and I also wanted to make him a shaped bread meal. With a lack of ideas, I decided on the first letter of his first name. The raspberries have nothing to do with the letter E but they are his favorite and I had them in the refrigerator.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Letter E shaped homemade bread (there are two “E” breads stacked on top of each other)
Top Right: Cheez-It’s Scrabble Junior crackers
Bottom Right: Raspberries
Not Pictured: Cheese sticks
I love shaping bread into fun shapes. Click here to see my other shaped bread creations.
I made this learning with the head, heart, and hands themed lunch for my 12 year old nephew. The order is counterclockwise because I knew that my nephew would prefer more fruit than vegetables.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Head (thinking): Angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce, Parmesan cheese, Head (Naan bread) I put a layer of Parmesan cheese under the bread to protect the bread from getting soggy.
Hand (doing): Carrots with Hand (cucumber)
Heart (feeling): Green grapes with strawberry heart
Mini Dippers: Ranch dressing and cashews
I made this “Hit the Books” themed lunch for my 15 year old niece on her second day of school. She is a great student so she does not need the subtle reminder in this lunch. But it was fun to make this simple theme. There is quite a bit of rice in this book shaped onigiri so I hope that this lunch is more filling than it may look.
At the bottom of this post you will see the Jam Tarts that I also included in my niece’s lunch. There are 5 kids in the family and I made 3 jam tarts for each of them with their school year decorated with pie crust.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Book shaped onigiri with nori shaped hand and filled with black beans and salsa. I used a mini loaf pan to shape the cooked Nishiki rice into the shape of a book. I lined the pan with plastic wrap, put in some hot rice, pushed down with plastic wrap, added a mixture of black beans and salsa, then added more hot rice and packed down using plastic wrap between my fingers and the rice. I then picked up the plastic wrap to remove the packed rice from the pan. I painted on the book spine with a few drops of food coloring mixed with a tiny amount of water. Then I cut out the hand with some dried seaweed (nori). Salad surrounds the book.
Top Right: Cashews
Bottom Right: Green grapes
Back to School Jam Tarts: I was very pleased with these. After I took the photo I told my husband about this being a snapshot in time (the current grades of the kids). My husband said that someone (not knowing the meaning of these) may think that I could not count. I was impressed that he could joke so early in the morning.
I made the crust the night before but I rolled, filled and baked these in the morning before school. These could be made the night before and you can use store bought pie crust.
Roll out pie crust. Use a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter or similar sized glass to cut pie crust rounds. Carefully put each pie crust round into non-stick or greased mini muffin tin cups. Partially fill each pie crust cup with fruit jam. (I used black raspberry and strawberry jams but only the black raspberry is in the picture.) If you overfill, the jam will bubble up while cooking and while edible will not look as clean. Cut pie crust scraps into numbers with small cookie cutters. Place numbers on top of the jam.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until pie crust is lightly browned.
This was a simple but satisfying lunch that I made for myself. My inspiration was fresh asparagus from my mother-in-laws garden. This container was perfect to showcase it.
Container: LunchBots Trio
Top Left: Campanelle pasta with a little olive oil and peas
Top Right: Green grapes
Bottom: Cooked asparagus with lemon zest and toasted hazelnuts
I made these simple lunches for 2 of my nephews on a day that I made an elaborate dinner for them. Cookie cutters made these sandwiches quick to make. I let them have Popchips because they prefer eating something other than sandwiches at my house so I wanted to give them a special treat.
My just turned 10 year old nephew ate this goat shaped sandwich at my house.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Contents: Popchips, red bell pepper, salad, red grapes, strawberry jam on wheat bread, candy eye
My 12 year old nephew ate this cow shaped sandwich at my house.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Contents: Brazil nuts, red bell pepper, spinach, strawberry jam on wheat bread, food marker details, red grapes, Popchips
When my 15 year old niece asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year I said painted clothespins to use as clips or a cute bento lunch. My thoughtful niece made both for me! I was delighted to eat this lunch! It was so beautiful and delicious. Plus she incorporated my favorite animal (lamb).
It was a rainy day so instead of a hike we went to the Eastman House Museum. We ended up eating our lunches in the car. (I made my nieces lunch and will post it a different time). There was a grassy area near the parking lot where I took the photo of this lunch.
Container: Rubbermaid TakeAlongs Divided
Top Section: Rice, broccoli, zucchini, carrot, Lamb (cheese quesadilla)
Bottom Section: Cottage cheese, blackberries, Butterflies and flowers (white chocolate)
These are the beautiful and useful clips created by my niece. She made categories that she know I will use (a very special gift).
It was a wonderful birthday and I am so thankful to be able to share it with my talented niece.
My friends 9 year old daughter loves Minions so when I asked her what theme lunch she wanted, naturally she requested a Minion theme. We were both very pleased with how this turned out.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Minion quesadilla – flour tortillas with Colby-jack cheese and black beans, details drawn with a food safe marker
Top Right: Pistachios with Minions drawn on with food marker. I have drawn on pistachios several times but the first time I was inspired by these footballs created by Becoming a Bentoholic. My friends daughter was the artist for these.
Bottom Right: Minion banana. I drew on the banana with a food safe marker. I was inspired by this lunch created by Lunchbox Dad.
Here is a close-up of the adorable Minion pistachios.
Eclectic Lamb 
You must be logged in to post a comment.