2 Bento #275 - Bunny Bacon Bites

Simple, yummy lunch - a grilled bacon and cheddar sandwich, cut into cubes.

I bought these carrot and bunny accessories back in the Spring at Dollar Tree.  They are good for a few uses, and so cute!

I have them filled with carrots (natch) and Pirate's Booty! That stuff is seriously addictive.

Grapes and celery sticks round out the lunch.

Packed up:

Bento #275 - Bacon & cheddar on whole wheat, grapes, celery, carrots and Pirate's Booty

In this lunch:

3 Bento #265 - Butterfly Ham & Cheese

Lunch today is in a Lego lunchbox with some butterflies.  It's ham and cheddar on whole wheat, and in the butterfly shape with a LunchPunch. You can't really see the butterfly sandwich very well, but next to it is a cute silicone butterfly cup filled with organic cucumber wedges, and a mini banana.

Bento #265 - Columbus ham and cheddar cheese on whole wheat, organic cucumber, mini banana and an apple strawberry Crusher.

 

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.

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.)

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!

0 Bento #223 - Flower & Berry PB&J

I hope my readers who just enjoyed a nice Fall break had a great one!  Today we have a Lunch Punch flower PB&J surrounded by fresh blackberries.  

Accompanied by Mr. Panda and some sliced bell pepper.

Bento #223 - Organic peanut butter & strawberry jam on whole wheat, fresh blackberries, orange bell pepper and ranch dip.  Snack - Banana

0 Bento #197 - Inside-Out Tulip Sandwiches (and trip photos)

Today we have "inside-out" tulip sandwiches with cheese and ham, and a large helping of fresh fruit salad.  E likes to make her sandwiches herself and be creative with the order in which she eats them, so it's a good lunch for her.

Bento #197 - 12 grain whole wheat toast, cheddar and Colby cheese, deli ham, broccoli & cauliflower, and fresh mixed fruit salad.

Now, a food picture from our trip.  These stuffed green and black olives were the appetizer at Spaghi Pizzeria Ristorante, North London - we chose a couple of delicious handmade pizzas.  The Quattro Stagioni (ham, mushrooms, artichokes & olives) and the Pizza Romana (ham, mozzarella, tomato, pepperoni & mushrooms.)  Excellent!  

We were literally stranded at this restaurant, so I'm very happy that it was a great meal.  Long story short, our Peugeot rental car died (in a roundabout during rush hour!) on our way out of London on the third day, so we dined here while we waited for the tow truck to rescue us.  (Big thank-you to Lady MiniCabs for being so incredibly helpful and friendly!  In fact, if you click on their link you will see that the green arrow is pointing exactly where we broke down.)

Poor Peugeot.

1 Bento #190 - Indian Cucumber & Chicken Sandwich

Ella just loves anything with cucumber, so I made her a sandwich with some sliced cucumber, a bit of Duke's mayo and baked chicken breasts that had been marinated in Greek yogurt, ginger-garlic paste and some Indian spices.  I sliced it thin and put it on whole wheat.  

Bento #190 - Chicken & cucumber on whole wheat bread, baby bok choy, ranch dip and melon balls.

1 Whole Wheat Enchiladas with Cheese Sauce

I made this the other night, and it was a big hit with everyone.  I didn't have enough paprika to make a traditional enchilada sauce, and I didn't really want to go the taco route.  So, I found a recipe for a white cheese sauce and tweaked it a little. Very simple to assemble, and then just pop it in the oven while you relax before dinner.

Heat oven to 400.

1 lb organic ground beef or chicken

taco seasoning (I use this recipe, instead of a packaged type)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup (I make my own, no MSG!  Here is the recipe.)

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, or mozzarella

4-6 whole wheat tortillas

Brown the meat and onions, then add the taco seasoning.  Stir until it's well coated (add some water if needed) and set aside.

In a bowl combine the yogurt, soup and cheese, and mix well.

Add meat evenly to each tortilla, and a couple spoonfuls of the cheese mixture, roll up and place into an appropriate-sized baking dish.  Top the enchiladas with remaining cheese sauce, top with onions and chopped tomato for garnish if desired, and pop into the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

I really love the tangy flavor the yogurt gives!  It's really nice with the cheese.  The soup gives it a full-bodied taste, and really, you won't miss the white flour tortillas - the whole wheat are great!

2 Bento #188 - Whole Grain Turkey Rollup

I got a whole new batch of cute bento items from AllThingsForSale.com the other day!  Look at this ADORABLE little piggy sauce container!  So cute, I can't stand it.  School gets out on May 25th here, how about for you?  I'm getting a little burned out these days, I can't wait for summer vacation to get here.

Bento #188 - Turkey & cheese whole grain rollup, organic strawberries, organic cucumbers and salad cream.

2 Bento #177 - School of Fish

This elegant fish is a whole wheat tortilla filled with organic peanut butter, honey and dried blueberries, a blueberry eye and cranberries for the fish lips.  Pretty cute!  I made it with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and a round.

Bento #177 - Whole wheat tortilla, dried blueberries, craisins, organic peanut butter, salami, Colby jack cheese, and cucumbers.