5 Bento #269 - Piggy "Lunchable"

First of all, have you noticed my FABULOUS new blog design?!  Shalon Estrada over at Pretty Lovely Design just completed it for me, and I'm super excited to show it to you all.

So today's lunch is in a Planetbox, and I've done it in the style of a Lunchable, but way lower in sodium and all that stuff, and no throwaway waste!

Here we have some Columbus roasted turkey with a piggie sauce container full of dip for the veggies.

The crackers are melba toasts, a couple of mini crispy oatmeal raisin cookies from Trader Joe's.

A couple slices of cheddar cheese cut into a piggie face using a Cutezcute cutter and a bunch of fresh broccoli, and organic green and red seedless grapes.

Bento #269 - Roasted turkey, cheddar cheese, broccoli florets, dip, melba toast, grapes and oatmeal raisin cookies.

  

1 Bento #266 - Panda PB&J

This panda face is sooo adorable!  It's a CuteZCute deco cutter from AllThingsForSale.  It's got four different plates for decorating!

Snap peas and dip round it out.

Bento #266 - Organic peanut butter and organic strawberry preserves, sugar snap peas, cheddar cheese, mini bananas and ranch dip.

5 Bento #263 - Salami Sandwich & Grapes

Hellooo there!  I'm finally getting back to the land of the living!  I've been battling a severe chest cold, and I'm finally starting to feel better.  Of course I never stopped packing lunch for Miss E, but I just didn't have the energy to document.  We've also been really busy getting new furniture and moving all sorts of stuff around, getting the nursery ready for baby's arrival in a few months, so it's been rather hectic.

Today I made a hard salami and cheddar pocket sandwich with The Pampered Chef Cut-N-Seal tool.

Ella asked if she could have salami every day.  I replied that I didn't think her doctor would approve of her cholesterol levels if I did.  Funny story - last year at her 5 year check up she had to have the obligatory cholesterol blood test.  The nurse came back and told me that her cholesterol was really high, and was rather concerned.  It struck me suddenly that on the way to her appointment she had grabbed a container of sliced salami and had eaten all of it moments before arriving. I swore that it was just an anomaly and she didn't actually eat cured meats all day long!  They had me bring her back in a week for a re-test, and naturally her levels were completely normal, but how embarrassing!

In the small container we have fresh green grapes and sliced orange bell pepper served with ranch dip.  I'm giddy with excitement over my new EasyLunchboxes Mini Dippers that just arrived in the mail!  They are the perfect size for dips and sauces, and have a leak-resistant top.  Yay!  They come in a package of 8, so lots of bang for your buck.

With tops affixed.  It's a princess-y kind of day.

Bento #263 - Salami and cheddar sandwich on wheat, Goldfish crackers, bell pepper, grapes and ranch dip.

11 years, never forget.

6 Bento #262 - Gyoza & Bell Peppers and Trader Joe's cookbook news!

First of all, I am so incredibly excited to announce that the cookbook I am featured in -  Cooking With Trader Joe's Cookbook: Easy Lunch Boxes - is now available for pre-order on Amazon! In fact, if you click "Look Inside" and check out the table of contents, Bentobloggy is listed on pages 157-162!! 

Just LOOK at this gorgeous spread!

Next, today is the very LAST day to enter for your chance to win the bento box starter pack I'm giving away, so enter here!

As for today's lunch, gyoza is the perennial favorite around these parts.  The brand we normally buy is Ling Ling all-natural chicken potstickers.  The sauce is in those cute flower sauce containers.

We also have sliced red bell pepper with ranch dip and frozen organic mixed berries.

The newly decorated Goodbyn Bynto!  Ella went all-out!

Bento #262 - Chicken gyoza with sauce, red bell pepper, ranch dip and organic mixed berries.

0 Bento #261 - Turkey & Cheese Sammy

Ella caught a glimpse of this lunch before I packed it away and she said "COOOL!  Except, I'm going to pretend that's a cat and not a dog."  What can I say?  The girl loves cats.

Quite a blurry picture of the sides - fresh fruit salad and broccoli.

Sandwich is cheddar and smoked turkey on whole wheat, and a side of ranch for the broccoli.

Easy Lunchbox all packed up!

Bento #261 - Turkey & cheddar on whole wheat, fruit salad and broccoli with ranch dressing.

Tomorrow is the LAST day to enter my bento starter pack giveaway!  I'm also throwing in extras not listed in the description, so if you haven't put your name in by now, what are you waiting for?!  Click here. (If you have problems entering, try logging out of Facebook and then back in again.)

1 Bento #260 - PB&J Sushi

Yummy!  We have organic peanut butter and strawberry jelly on whole wheat today, rolled into sushi and some cheese cubes on leaf skewers.

Bento #260 - Organic PB&J on whole wheat, mozzarella cheese, carrot chips and ranch dip.

0 Bento #256 - First Day of First Grade Bento

New year!  Miss Ella started first grade today.  How fast the summer flew!  Just look how adorable she is in her school uniform.  I got the cute bunting printable from Party On! Designs as a little first day surprise, and she loved it.

For back to school lunch we have an inside-out princess tiara turkey sandwich on wheat.

I cut out some red and yellow sweet bell peppers into flower shapes for her veg.

Served it up with some ranch dip in the panda container, along with a sweet Clementine.  The oranges I've been getting the last few weeks have been amazing!  Also a little snack of Goldfish crackers and some gummy vitamins for dessert.

Packed in her PlanteBox!  This year they aren't doing snack (at least that's what I understand right now!)

Bento #256 - Turkey & cheese sandwich on wheat, sweet bell peppers, Goldfish crackers, ranch dip, Clementine and gummy vitamins.

Don't forget to enter my Bentobloggiversary bento giveaway!  Click here to enter!

8 Bento #252 - Mom's Day Off Bento & Blog Hop

Today's bento lunch was packed by none other than Miss E and her daddy!  I didn't give them any guidance, they could just pack whatever they wanted. And here it is - a PB&J lunch and some yummy, unusual (for me, anyway) extras.

Bento #252 - Organic PB&J sandwich on wheat, Cheetos, organic carrots & dip and organic Gala apple.  Snack - Apple crusher and crackers.

And as I mentioned in the post title, it's a blog hop!  Click here to see what my bento-making mama friends are doing for Mom's Day Off, starting with Marie at Healthy Eating Starts at Home!

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.

3 Bento #235 - Hello Kitty Onigiri & Cucumber Rounds

Here is my very non heart-sy February 14th lunch. Why not?  I've already done a few hearts in recent bento boxes.  Also the fact that we don't celebrate, so there's that.  However, if you are looking for some really cute heart-sy bento lunches, here is a link where you can hop from one bento blog to the next for some heart-stoppingly adorable creations.  All together now {awwww!}

Why Miss Hello Kitty, why do you look so mean and mad?  Poor girl.  She must be upset that her favorite bow accessory is not showing up all that well in her mug shot.

More [novice] Baby Bel carvings and some sliced cucumbers.

Grapes and TJ's yogurt stars.

Bento #235 - Jasmine rice onigiri, Baby Bel cheese, cucumbers, grapes, dip and yogurt star biscuits.  Snack - Apple-banana spice muffin (not shown.)

1 Bento #230 - 100th Day Bento

Today not only is it our 100th day of school, but it's also Friday - pizza day!  I decided to do English muffin mini pizzas with pepperoni, channeling the zeros.  The kids all enjoy regular visits from Zero The Hero who comes to school to help them learn how to count to 100! S/He also helps the kids learn the concept of zero being a place holder, and other place value concepts.

The pizzas are made with the aforementioned English Muffins, toasted first, then a large spoonful of fresh basil bruschetta, topped with mozz and the pepperoni slices, a special treat.

Our sides are carrots with dip and craisins with more 0s - Cheerios.

Again channeling the whole zero concept is the round container of applesauce.

Bento #230 - English muffin bruschetta & pepperoni pizzas, baby carrots with ranch dip, craisins and Cheerios.  Snack - Applesauce.

5 Bento #229 - Gyoza & Baby Bel

More Baby Bel!  I got myself an X-Acto knock-off (hello, it was PINK and retractable) and so I experimented a little.  I used some deco cutters to make a light imprint in the wax, and then traced it.  It's really not precise, but I think I just need some practice.  Or have my hubby do it.

And *gasp* another chocolate treat!  I fully blame my mom for this.  She sent us a HUGE - and I mean massive - box of chocolates in the mail yesterday.  So E got a chocolate nut cluster in today's lunch.

The gyoza are not actually burned, just FYI.  

Bento #229 - Chicken gyoza, ponzu sauce, celery sticks, ranch dip, dried cranberries, Baby Bel cheese, chocolate nut cluster and pretzels.  Snack - whole grain apple snack bar.