Dinner on the go

Okay, so THURSDAY (Jan. 10) was a busy evening.  The two younger kids had their regular therapy appointment and then we had to go straight from there to the middle school for all the pre-registration stuff for Ruthie's brother.  Problem?  When would we eat dinner?  What would we eat for dinner?

Solution - grab the containers and throw together something quick, healthy, and yummy!  Yep, my stash of containers comes in handy in times like this (and no last minute going out for baggies, not having lunch bags to put them in, or having needless trash)

First, dinner for the princess.... she'd had chicken salad for lunch, so I cut up some more cucumber and made her pb & strawberry jam sandwich bites.  I also included a banana.

For her brother and myself, I used our zip lock containers (seriously best clearance containers... they just hold SO FREAKIN MUCH... but not good for every day... they don't like to fit in a lot of lunchbags)

Jeffrey got peanut butter banana sushi/roll ups - he has asked for them since I showed them... and he declared them a big hit.  He also had carrots and cucumber slices.

I got a straight peanut butter & banana sandwich, carrots and cucumber, and ranch.

With it being winter and cold, we didn't even need ice packs... our water bottles and food stayed nice and cold... colder than when we put them in the car, in fact.

A bird of a different color

Okay, Ruthie's favorite is the RED angry bird, but I can only do that so many times.  This was my first try at another color and green worked with my round shape... I need to make the beak bigger, but my daughter was thrilled with it and that's what matters.

I may try to do cucumber pigs one day... but today was not that day and (as you might see from one top slice) this cucumber was SO juicy it was not going to work for trying it today.

The sandwich is a change... chicken salad... with honey mustard to feed the sweet tooth.

Cucumber Stars to make a wish on

Hey, it's hard to make every lunch all unique and cute... so a lot of days, and today was one of them, I grabbed a leftover hamburger bun for her pb&j (my child could live on pb and strawberry) and the last of the  salad greens... it just looked boring, so I whipped out a veggie cutter... some stars, some with the star cut out... and it becomes a cute little salad.

And yes, I love this box for holding so much so snugly and yet also being small enough that it reminds me who I'm packing lunch for... a child who does not eat a ton at a time most days.

Another Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty is always a fav... I used the top tier of her kotobuki panda box to cut out the bread in the face shape, then used food writer pens.  She requested pb & j, so that's what she got, along with apple and cucumber chunks in the baking cup liners.  All packed in our betty crocker boxes that are some of my favorite... they help me not overpack.

A reminder that I love you

Even though Valentine's Day is more than a month away, my little girl had a hard week at school and I thought that what she needed was a little reminder that her dad and I love her... even when she's not doing her best with her self-control and her temper.  

Two heart shaped pb & strawberry sandwiches (one says Be Kind as a reminder and the other I Luv You), cucumber chunks with two heart shaped slices on top to put some love in her veggies, and I tucked an apple in her bag with this lunch.  And if nothing else, the cute face of her panda box had to remind her of her stuffed animals at home who are great for hugging tight when you have had a rough week.

Simple and Small

Today's lunch is simple... with small portions and/or small bites... she said yesterday she asked to go sit at another table because she needed time to herself, so I also made sure to choose a container that would easily move all her food quickly, should she need that again to help control her little temper.

She has a half sandwich of peanut butter and strawberry jam, celery bites, 8 potato chips (I counted... lol), and 3/4 of a small apple cut into thin small pieces.

If she weren't eating less these days, I would have sent more celery and some pb for dipping or more sandwich.

Days like this, it's always water to drink... to help leave room for as much food as possible.

Back To School - 1st Lunch after Winter Break

After eating so much during her break from school and eating less the past few days, I knew a meal that would be eaten quickly and not overfill her was required.  I also colored her sandwich an angry bird to please her... she got plenty of angry bird stuff for christmas and is now forming a list for her birthday of what she wants... all angry bird things.

Her angry bird is filled with tuna salad (with mayo and a bit of spicey mustard) celery and some sprinkled frosted pretzels helped fill her up.