Easy Bento: The Pumpkin Version

This is another one of the post that I am doing in a hurry, just so I can get it up in timely manner:/
I made these simple bentos for the kids co-op lunches today. No fancy cutting or decorating involved. Mostly just store bought, color coordinated elements:)

I put this lunch in the kids "Lunchblox" from Rubbermaid. So even though this looks like a lot of food (and it is more than I usually pack), it's really just aLOT of containers!

The bulk of this lunch was some fun pumpkin shaped ravioli that I found at Sams club. I cooked the pasta "al dente" the night before and included a small dipper of sauce. And while I personally thing that the kids could eat this just fine cold (HELLO!! Pizza lunchables anyone!?!) our co-op does provide a microwave. So I had the kids warm the whole thing for 30 seconds.

I packed a clementine (cause who doesn't think they look like little pumpkins?) and some baby carrots with a punkin pick in the medium size container.

In one of the small containers I put some vanilla yogurt garnished with fall sprinkles, and the other held pumpkin seeds and a pumpkin shaped york peppermint patty candy.

This is my daughters set of "blox" all stacked up and ready to be packed in her lunchbag:) I also included a juice smoothie box that is pictured in the first photo.

So there you go, another easy bento for your arsenal;) BTW, my kids ate almost all of this! There were a few carrots and pumpkin seeds left. But I think they really enjoyed the change up of the ravioli.

Easy Bat Bento

So I am just popping in to put up a few pics of  my kids bento. I sent these this week for their lunch at homeschool co-op. They were super easy. And I thought I better get them up before the end of the month:P

These were suppose to be "Bat" themed.But that might be a stretch... We don't really do Halloween, however there are some aspects we can't resist. And when my kids found bat shaped brownies at the store, I said yes. Bats are not inherently evil;) Not to mention once we got them home and opened them, they actually more resemble butterflies:/

I had small ham sandwich on a Kings Hawaiian Roll, embellished with a fruit strip Bat cutout and some pringles in the left compartment. The middle compartment had some olives, and smaller container with some yogurt raisins and a Bat pick. The far right had a juice smoothie box and the bat/butterfly brownie. 

This is actually how I fit the brownie in with the juice box:) See how much that goofy thing looks like a butterfly even from this angle!

I packed this in our Rubbermaid Lunchblox boxes and was a little bummed, cause once the kids got to co-op their sandwiches were soggy:( Evidently even though I drained the olives, the little bit of liquid left seeped into the other compartment. Guess from now on I will only pack dry things in the multi-compartment version of this box. We have another version and it contains individual containers that stack together, so that may be better for wet things....

Bento-Quick and Easy, a Confession, and a Resolution

So I have decided to go back to posting what seems fun to me. For about the last year I was trying to "impress" all my non-existent readers with things I found to be popular. Or I was just using my blog as a baby diary;) But I am valiantly going to try and post more often, and of things that come naturally to me and that make me happy. These are the post I like to come back and look at and read, since I seem to be my blogs' own "biggest fan".

I do LOVE making fun lunches for my kiddos. Since we homeschool I only pull out the lunchboxes once a week for co-op. But honestly I look forward to this part of co-op a TON;)
Here was this weeks little Bento Box style lunch. My son had requested that I make "less" lunch, evidently I usually get carried away and pack to much food! So this was my attempt at packing a smaller lunch.

This little lunch contained: 3 rolled up slices of Buffalo Chicken deli meat, a stack of cheddar shaped stars, a tiny container of trail mix, a row of wheat thins crackers, a small handful of grapes, and to separate the grapes from the crackers I wedged a mini candy bar in between them:)

 I apologize that the coloring of this pic stinks:/ I make the lunches the night before, and there is no good lighting for photography in this house at night! I also may or may not have been lazy and snapped this pic with my IPhone...
My son deemed this lunch a success both in taste and size, so I may be using this little lunch container more often!

Whatever Goes Wednesday-Bento: Yellow Stars

I am sure nobody was to sad that I didn't post a muffin tin this Monday. But I thought since I didn't I would post my kiddos Bento from Co-op today. I went with an easy peasy theme: Yellow Stars.
I think I was trying to challenge myself to see if I could make a monochromatic yet nutritious lunch:) Here is what they ended up with:

I put fresh pineapple chunks in one square, pirate booty in the next, vanilla yogurt with star sprinkles and a tiny appetizer spoon, and lil star shaped sandwiches. I had to stick in a golden oreo, because my guys do NOT consider yogurt dessert:P

Bento - "Minis"

SO I have been making the kids "bentoish" lunches for Homeschool co-op & days when I have meetings. I haven't taken any pics, so I had not been sharing them. But today I was so pleased with my theme and the ease of it, I had to post! This is what the kiddos took to Co-op today:

I know this doesn't look very special (and really it's not) however, everything in this box was a "mini" version of something. Their Lock & Lock 4 square boxes held:
A mini orange (clementine), baby oreos, a tiny turkey & cheese sandwiche, and a mini container of yogurt. If you look at the items on a regular paper plate it better shows the size ratio.

I used the little cocktail bread to make the mini sandwiches. I would love to tell you my kiddos were impressed, however I think the theme alluded them:/ Oh well , it made ME happy!:) Thanks for looking!