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.

0 Bento #155 - Toast & Apple Cheese

Well, it's not really apple cheese, (though I'm sure someone, somewhere out there makes such a concoction) but apple shaped Havaarti cheese.  There are two slices, one is a "red delicious" and the other is a "golden delicious" with green leaves and brown stem.  The ham is also cut into the apple shape.  What's funny is that this bento is devoid of actual apples. ha!

Bento #155 - Melba toasts, Havaarti cheese, ham, carrots, cucumber, macadamia nuts and dried blueberries.

2 Bento #128 - Princess PB&J

Today we have some of the super yummy bread I made the other night in the shape of a Lunch Punch princess which is slathered with organic peanut butter and organic strawberry preserves.  The eyes and mouth are jumbo non-pareils.  We have an all-day conference today, so I packed some extra in her bag for snacks too, some yogurt, mini peanut butter crackers and ducky cheese crackers.  Hopefully that'll hold her over until the end of the day.

Bento #128 - Organic princess PB&J, strawberry slices, macadamia nuts, celery sticks and cheese cubes.

8 Bento #127 - Steak & Ham Pocket

I made these little melty pastry pockets out of some leftover steak and ham, which I sauteed in a little butter, Italian herbs and a pinch of garlic powder.  Then I encased spoonfuls of the meat in some refrigerated dough rectangles along with some shredded cheese and baked for about 11 minutes.  Ella declared them to be delicious (she called them "pants pockets"!), and the rest we have here in her bento, along with a fresh batch of basil pesto, which is happily pine nut-less this time.  I used walnuts.  I also ensured that there were plenty of celery sticks.  A few days ago she complained that she only had four.

Bento #127 - Steak, ham & cheese pastry pocket, celery sticks, basil pesto, macadamia nuts, yogurt stars and fresh strawberries.

4 Bento #115 - Veggie Shells & Trail Mix

Today I took some organic tri-color pasta shells made from spinach and tomato, and tossed in some frozen veggies - peas, corn, cauliflower and carrots, in a light herb butter sauce, and some shredded cheese and cream.  Very yummy!  The trail mix is just some banana chips, craisins, apricots, macadamia nuts and ducky crackers all tossed together.

Bento #115 - Veggie shell pasta, dried fruit trial mix, strawberry yogurt (not shown.)

1 Bento #113 - Gluten-Free Grilled Cheese Squares

Woo hoo!  Another PlanetBox lunch!  I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.  I also have the Big and Little Dippers, but I haven't tried those yet.  I bought a loaf of Udi's brand gluten-free bread, and E loves it.  She calls it "Lydia Bread" after one of her besties who eats a gluten/dairy-free diet.  I used it here for the grilled cheese, and cut the crusts off.  I "hid" the yogurt star amongst the nuts, as a little joke.  As for the camouflaged star, E said she found it quite easily. ;)

Bento #113 - Macadamia nuts, yogurt star, grilled cheese on "Lydia bread", baby carrots, ranch dip in the monkey container, and fresh watermelon chunks.

Anyway, yesterday was a fun day for E because both her mommy and daddy did centers in the morning.  I helped the kids make stretchy, slimy goo out of BioColor. (Yay me!  If you knew me, you'd think this was pretty funny.  Almost as funny as me doing a bug-themed center.) Daddy brought a tub of wooden pattern blocks and practiced patterns and making shapes.  Way fun.

14 Bento #92 - Eggies & Salad

This was a simple bento lunch.  E specifically asked me for scrambled eggies with cheese, and what a great choice, they are packed with protein and good fat (as are the macadamia nuts!)

Bento #92 - Scrambled eggs with shredded cheese, salad greens, tomato-basil dressing, macadamia nuts, frozen blackberries.

24 Bento #91 - Maple Leaf Grilled Cheese

I was feeling a little rusty, and E was starting to feel a little bento-neglected, so I surprised her with a bento tray for lunch today.  I need to gear up for school!  She was very excited when I placed it in front of her.

Bento #91 - Maple leaf grilled cheese, macadamia nuts, grapes, crinkle carrot chips and ranch dip.