A new year and a new box!

Okay, so right before school started, my wonderful computer that I've had for several years that my husband built for me totally died.  We couldn't narrow the cause down to one part that we could replace, so it was cheaper to simply replace the machine.  I now have a new computer, so back to blogging!

I'm still having trouble getting back in the routine of it as we are quite busy, but I will start taking pictures again tomorrow and posting at least once a week (I might do daily again, but I know I can do weekly).

So, before my computer died, I'd had swagbucks amazon cards saved up and won another one from a bausch & lomb giveaway, so I had not only enough to score Ruthie a wonderful red angry bird costume for under 15 dollars shipped, but it was the perfect time to get... yep... a new bento box!

She had been eating more all summer so it was time.

This is the box that she got

Here is the link - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051U1P58/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it's a 1.2 quart square box by Omami, so it holds a little over 4 cups.  It came with a strap (a really nice one) and TWO lids... the one on the right seals the box to make it leak proof (YAY) and the top lid makes it pretty or you can fit a napkin between the two lids.  Naturally, I got it in pink because Ruthie LOVES pink and because this pink matches her embark lunch bag and embark water bottle.

We love this container and it's her favorite one now.  to divide it, I got jumbo muffin liners from the dollars pot at target (2 in a pack... I got two packs) and they come all the way to the top of the box and the clear lid seals them and the box... so no worries about packing juicy fruit in this box now!

This is her lunch she took the first day of school in this great box

She had a tuna sandwich, cut in half and stacked, and I used food writing pens to decorate the top one like notebook paper with an A+.  She also had green grapes, cucumber, and for a treat, she had some Doritos.

I also tried out putting my round 4 oz glad containers in this box and they fit with their lid AND the sealing lid on over their own lid and then they don't budge, so this box will also work great for snack lunches with things to dip in pb and the pb in a glad container.

Here is another fun lunch she has taken in a different box (it was basically a lunchable)

I used two different sized muffin cups to reflect portion sizing.  The jumbo had salad ( that's a pea pod on top and she LOVES them now... yay for adding a new veggie to her diet!), the small one had cut up slices of pepperoni from a big pepperoni stick (so they were thick slices that just had to be cut into chunks) and Kashi Hummis Chips (sea salt and olive oil flavor)  In the round glad container is oranges.  The container is made by Tupperware, but I don't know the exact name of it.

Lunch for the Park

I have not been blogging lunches lately because Ruthie has had a lot of troubles at school and is currently being given a tutor and we are working on getting her able to be back in school so she can move to the gifted class.  In other words, we have had to decide to start medication.

She's hopefully going to be returning to school at the end of the month, so fingers are crossed.

In the meantime, we had our first day spent at the park (not just going after lunch and coming home for dinner) and so of course I packed some bento-style lunches for us!  (I have three kids, but my oldest chose to stay home to help his father with yard work)

Ruthie requested pb and jam which surprised me as I have managed to figure out a chocolate pb spread recipe I like that is easy enough... but hey, it's okay to not be in the mood for chocolate, even if it does take me by total surprise.  Her brother, on the other hand, was all about that so he had a pb/chocolate and banana sandwich (he also had some pb/chocolate on the useable part leftover from Ruthie's bread being cutout)  They both got salad, cucumber, and oranges (I took the pics at the park, so that fork indent is totally from having been packed that way overnight with his salad fork on his sandwich)

And then lunch for me... I just had to be different... nah, really just trying to make sure I wouldn't get hungry when I shouldn't and keep things as low cal and high on the veggie end as I could.

I tore up leftover chicken after I loosely filled the main compartment of the zip lock container with salad, then added cucumber slices.  In the larger side compartment is leftover steamed collard greens, the smaller one has some crackers, and then I also had a container for dressing and a big juicy apple... which tasted even better than it looked (yeah, I loved that apple)

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.