2 Bento #248 - Special Ham Sandwich

Today we have a Special Ham Sandwich in an Easy Lunch Box.  The ham is my family recipe baked ham, which is amaaaazing, and also why the sandwich is Special!  The Special Ham Sandwich is about the only thing my father can make to eat, and as little girls (and big!) we LOVED when Mom baked a ham, and Daddy pulled it out Saturday morning and made us all Special Ham Sandwiches.  He'd sit at the head of the kitchen table surrounded by his pot of tea, jars of mustard, mayo, pickles, pickled onions, lettuce and a loaf of bread with the cold ham right in the center of it all.  We'd watch Saturday morning cartoons in the living room while he'd watch the news, and make sandwich after sandwich to order...half for one of us, and half for him.  Love!

I'm not a fan of pickled onions, by the way, but Daddy is.  He used to smuggle jars of them back from England in his suitcase.  Also, I'm calling out my sister Liz for liking to drink the juice!  I've shared the Special Ham Sandwich with E, though it's not quite as special since her Obbie's hands didn't prepare it. :-)  This is how I always picture my dad, with his ubiquitous cup of tea (the very same china pattern I grew up with that is now mine - Royal Doulton Pastorale.)  He's holding a two-day-old Miss E in this picture.

Bento #249 - Special Ham Sandwich with cheese, Clementine, sugar snap peas & dip.  Snack - Macadamia nuts & carrot apple Crusher.

6 Bento #234 - Puppy House Ham Sandwich

The weather has been really nice here lately and the days are starting to get longer.  I had the tiniest bit of energy and daylight left yesterday and quickly made lunch so I could photograph in some natural light.  E adores this LunchPunch puppy inside-out sandwich!  Ham and cheese.

The last of the cucumber flowers I did the day before with a cute koala bear peering out.

And a mound of juicy grapes.

Check out my new Easy Lunch Box!  Founder and CEO Kelly Lester sent me one of these kits, and I'm in love with the deep compartments, and the large and roomy carrying bag.  If you're still looking for a top-style carry bag, go and get yourselves one of these!

Bento #234 - Ham & cheese sandwich, pretzel sticks, grapes and cucumbers.  Snack - Clementine & Baby Bel cheese (not shown.)

0 Bento #209 - Waste Free Wednesday Ham Sandwich & Bell Peppers

I desperately need to go grocery shopping after this long weekend; I'm down to my last fresh veg, and I think I only have a couple of oranges left.  I'm relying once more on some dried fruit, which is always nice to have around, especially since it's so portable.

By the way, this is part of E's school's Waste Free Wednesdays!  She received a tie-dye cloth napkin for packing a waste-free lunch!

Sandwich today is grilled baked ham and cheddar on rye.  The alphabet picks spell H-A-M (shocking, I know.)

I sliced half a yellow bell pepper and included a little piggy sauce cup full of ranch dip, and of course the aforementioned dried cherries with ring picks.  By the way, if you ever get a package of picks with these in there, tell your kids not to put them on their fingers!  We had a date with some dish soap and that ring last year.

I always say that you can find neat lunch containers in unexpected places.  This bento box came from a Crocs store!  They said that it was for storing Jibbitz, but it's a totally a 2-tier bento box, complete with a divider and an adorable bow band.  It even has space on top for utensils.  I think it was on clearance for $4.  I have been packing snacks in a drawstring bag one of my older bento boxes came with.  If something in her snack needs to be kept cold, I just stick it in her lunchbox with everything else.

Bento #209 - Baked ham & chedder on rye, dried cherries, sliced yellow bell pepper and dip.  Snack - String cheese and an Apple Carrot Crusher.

Speaking of bento boxes, AllThingsForSale is having a bento giveaway on their blog right now, check it out!

0 Bento #180 - Grilled Ham & Cheese "Apples"

Today's a PlanetBox lunch with grilled ham & cheese cut into apples.  I think you can tell when I need to get to the store when we have dried fruit, but it's still healthy and very convenient, and they come unsweetened.  I always have a few bags on hand for lunches and as additions into quick breads.

Bento #180 - Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, carrot chips, roasted peanuts, dried blueberries, cherries and banana chips and vitamins (multi/iron, calcium and Omega-3.)

6 Bento #144 - Moon & Stars

Aww!  I just love these cute moon sandwiches.  I made them from a new cutter I got from World Market last week.  I happened to have moon and star sprinkles, so I used a few to decorate, and they went really well with the star cups I have (also from World Market.)  My inspiration came from the snow we've been having.  It's been super cold (well below freezing) and snowing lightly almost non-stop, but it's so dry that it just drifts away so we barely have any accumulation.  The flakes are so tiny when they're falling that in a beam of sunlight they sparkle and shimmer like stars!  I don't think I've seen that happen before, usually they are too wet or it's too overcast.

Bento #144 - Grilled ham & cheese on homemade bread, organic baby carrots, homemade zucchini bread, craisins and sunflower seeds.

12 Bento #140 - Grilled Ham & Cheese Flowers

Here's a little experiment I tried today, and while it's not green eggs and ham, a green cheese flower will have to do!  Going into the new year my goal is to try some new techniques in my bentos, and since this turned out well, my confidence is bolstered.  It was really simple, I just dropped a dot of green food colouring on the cheese (provolone) and used the back of a spoon to coat it all over.  The color takes very quickly.  I blotted up the excess with a paper towel.  Voila!

Bento #140 - Grilled ham & cheese, coloured provolone flower, pretzel sticks, craisins, organic baby carrots and ranch dip.

2 Bento #138 - Ham & Cheese Sushi

So, getting back into the swing of things!  Today we have ham and cheese "sushi" rolls, along with veg and some really yummy dipping sauce I made from this amazing new spice blend I've recently had a chance to try called Primo27, which is getting it's own post in just a bit.

I'm also extremely excited to be invited to take part in an upcoming collaborative event between E's school and our local Harry's Farmers Markets.  Perhaps some bento demos are in my future....  Can't wait to share more once the details are known!

Bento #138 - Ham & cheese on a flour tortilla, celery sticks, Primo27 dip and an Aussie apple.

0 Bento #134 - Ham & Cheese Crepes

I tried some savoury crepes for E's lunch - just prepared a simple crepe recipe (mine are more eggy) and while they were cooking I melted some shredded cheese on top, and finished with a couple slices of ham.  They were rolled up and sliced across like you see above.  Very good!  I also made these for my husband's lunch, sans the cute animal picks (though I was sorely tempted to hide one in there somewhere.)

Bento #134 - Ham & cheese crepes, guacamole, sunflower seeds and craisins.

5 Bento #120 - Ham & Cheese on Toasts

E was thrilled with this lunch, she thought it was so cool that she could make her own ham and cheese sandwiches.  The toasts are Alessi crispy biscotte, which are small and fit perfectly into one side of this bento box.  Also, the Aussie apple is stuffed with peanut butter, an idea I got from a commenter on my Facebook page.  Great idea!  E loved that too.  The little banana on top is a small spoon to help spread.

Bento #120 - Deconstructed ham and cheese, baby carrots, Aussie apple stuffed with organic peanut butter.

8 Bento #97 - Princess Ham & Cheese

Today's is the first school bento of the year!  E specially asked for ham and cheese, and so that is what she got, but with a cute twist.  The "jewels" are jumbo nonpareils affixed with a tiny bit of cream cheese.

Bento #97 - Princess ham & cheese on 12 grain bread, cucumber flowers, organic green grapes and mini peanut butter crackers.

Here it is all packed up!

To illustrate how awesome the Sanrio HK lunchbag is - containers are stored and carried upright, so no spillage!  And plenty of room, too.