6 Bento #216 - Frog Prince Sandwich & Edamame

I just love these Lunch Punches!    This one is a frog prince, though I wish the features showed up better in the pictures.  Super cute.   As you can see below, I did an inside-out layered sandwich with 36 16 grain bread (doesn't it seem like they are now putting out bread with crazy amounts of grains?  This one was dropping flax seeds and nuts all over my counter.)

Edamame and some berry Yogurt Stars.

Ninja Aussie apple.

And all packed up in her PlanetBox.

Bento #216 - Whole grain bread and Colby cheese sandwich, berry Yogurt Star cookies, edamame, dried cherries and vitamins.  Snack - Aussie apple.

2 Bento #178 - Veggie Yakisoba & Fruit

We've been on spring break like most of the rest of the U.S., so bento lunches have been far and few between.  Today we have a simple tray with veggie yakisoba noodles with lots of steamed veggies like water chestnuts, snow peas, slivered carrots, mushrooms, peppers and edamame. E loves this dish and asks for it a lot.  Sometimes I'll add grilled chicken for protein. A tropical fruit salad rounds it out for dessert.

Bento #178 - Yakisoba noodes and steamed veggies, and fruit salad medley.  

4 Bento #148 - Last Bento of 2010

Wow, I can't believe this is the last day and last bento of 2010, woo hoo!  I hope everyone has a wonderful 2011!!  We're on our way to go snow tubing!

Bento #148 - Mini meatballs, homemade dinner roll, organic edamame, clementine and cheese cubes.

10 Bento #136 - Puzzle Ham & Cheese

I got my new Lunch Punch puzzle cutters last week, isn't this so cool?  I've found that cutting each individual layer of the sandwich works best for preserving the shapes.  What's nice is that the cutter is the perfect size for cutting a standard slice of cheese, with little waste.  What are your favorite sandwich shapes?

Bento #136 - Ham & Colby cheese on wheat, red grapes, baby carrots, edamame, ranch dip and a Hershey's Kiss.

12 Bento #133 - Double Noodle Bento

This double bento is from Friday evening.  We took E to have an evening playdate with our friend's daughter K (while we parents went to dinner AT the movie theatre) so I made them noodles and wontons.  They are just regular ramen noodles, but I always make the sauce that seasons them myself and throw the powder packet away.  There is way, way too much sodium and MSG in those things!  It's just soy sauce, garlic, ginger, dash of rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame oil, and some pepper.  Sometimes I get a little wild and add a dash of fish sauce and some sliced green onions.  I would normally add some frozen veggie mix (peas, carrots, corn, etc.) but Miss K is a little finicky, so I held off.  Of course, the animal chopsticks make it extra fun.

Bento #133 - Chinese noodles, chicken-cilantro wontons, yogurt stars, edamame, and an organic peanut butter-stuffed Aussie apple (not pictured.)

0 Bento #132 - Mac and Italian Chicken

Ahh, mac n' cheese, a perennial kid favorite.  I've quartered an Aidells Italian chicken meatball for some extra protein (on drumstick skewers!) as well as the edamame, which also has great protein.  Fresh frozen raspberries for dessert, and that's what I call lunch!

By the way, that orange cup?  It's from a pack of multi-colored egg cups (aka, egg "chairs") I picked up at Tuesday Morning a few weeks ago by Zak! Designs.  It's a really neat size and shape.

Bento #132 - Organic mac n' cheese, Italian chicken meatball, organic edamame, and frozen raspberries.

2 Bento #130 - Ravioli 'Sunflowers' & Edamame

These ravioli are not only delicious, but adorable to boot!  There was a lady sitting on a stool handing out samples at Costco, and I just had to get some.  They are Buitoni brand filled with a spicy blend of beef and sausage, and I figured we could shake things up a bit with the protein.  They look just like sunflowers to me, so they are nestled in a 'field' of fresh baby spinach.  Also, I grabbed a container of organic, non-GMO edamame pods, which E has a great time shelling (though I've obviously shelled them for her here, I can't imagine how long she'd be at it during school lunch.)  They are delicious!

Bento #130 - Beef & sausage ravioli, baby spinach, organic edamame, and sliced strawberries.