DIY Pizza Lunchable...

First week of school....DONE!! Well, we survived the first week of school without any major mishaps. We've got our morning routine down, both kids are happy with their classes and teachers, and Z is over the moon that his bestie from last year is in his class this year, too. Yay for besties!! Mama's just about gotten adjusted to a quiet house again. And best of all, Grumpy Bear syndrome has just about passed (see previous post). First week success, I'd say.  I know many of your kidlets are headed back to school very soon.....hang in there, Mamas!!!! It's not long now!! The graphic below says it all, huh!

One of Z's favorite lunches has to be the DIY pizza Lunchable. I can't believe I've never posted a DIY pizza lunch. These are so much healthier than the pre-boxed ones at the grocery....you know the ones. The boxed pizza Lunchables have ingredients in them that I can't even pronounce. But, kids love these things, don't they? And, mine are no exception. So, in order to maintain my coolness factor with the little guy, I created our own version of the pizza Lunchable with healthier and tastier ingredients. These are fun for kids to eat, and, best of all, homemade pizza Lunchables are super easy to make. My mini pizza crusts came from an online bakery, but you could make your own, use pita bread or English muffins. Give these a try in your kiddos lunch, and you will be the coolest mom on the block!

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• thin 3 inch pizza crusts- I don't remember the brand I used, but Mazor makes a 3 inch and a 2 inch mini pizza crust.
• Vermont Smoke and Cure nitrate-free pepperoni
• Sargento shredded mozzarella cheese
• carrot rounds and black olives
• red seedless grapes
• Kroger yogurt tube- This is their version of the Trix yogurt tubes.
• Glen Muir organic pizza sauce in the round Sistema cup- This comes in a bottle, and I doctored it up to suit my family's taste.
• Hershey's cookies and cream miniature

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

I think I can.....I think I can...

Yep! The title of this post says it all!!! I think I can!!! The end of the school year is finally here. FIVE. MORE. DAYS. I think I can! I feel like that little engine in the book The Little Engine That Could. The kids and I all have end-of-the-school-year-itis, and we are sooo ready to be outside playing, riding bikes, swimming, eating Popsicles, and of course, sleeping late. Our school focus is completely defunct and non-existent, and so is my lunch making mojo! But, we can do it....five more days. It's funny how every year we complain about how early school starts...usually the first week in August. But, the kidlets and I sure do love getting out in May. We're heading out on a family vacay next week so as to beat the summer heat, and the weather should be great! Whoohoo!!!!      

 We LOVE.......

So, lunchmaking this week will probably consist of "just throw it in a box" type lunches. But, any lunch looks cute when packed in a fun lunchbox like the Yumbox, Bento Kids, or the Goodbyn. Add a couple colorful silicone cups and you're all set. Today's lunch for the boy is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto, and it took me 10 minutes to make. Yep...I just "threw it in the box". Looks pretty fun and cute, huh?

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• King's Hawaiian dinner roll sandwich- Natural Selects ham and Swiss cheese
• Pirate's Booty puffed cheese snacks
• Sunburst cherry tomatoes
• Oikos strawberry Greek yogurt
• Pink Lady apple wedges
• mini shortbread cookie

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Sister Schuberts saves the day...

Ok...I admit it! My kids eat A LOT of sandwiches. They make for such an easy and simple lunch. It's a daily challenge to make a healthy and appealing lunch that kids will want to eat, isn't it? Now, my little guy doesn't mind sandwiches, and he is not too picky with them. But, regular white or wheat sandwich bread is definitely not his fave. He will eat these, but much prefers other breads. So, I often make him sandwiches on different types of bread. Some of his favorites are: King's Hawaiian dinner rolls, Sister Schubert's rolls, croissants, Oroweat flat sandwich rounds, bagels, English muffins, and pretzel bread. For today's lunch, I used a Sister Schubert's dinner roll to make Z a ham and cheese sandwich. These little rolls are the perfect size for a kid sandwich, and they are soooo good. If you have a kidlet that fusses over the regular white or wheat bread sammie, try using one of these other delicious breads for a sandwich. You very well may have sandwich-eating success!

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• Natural Selects nitrate free ham and Swiss cheese sandwich on a Sister Schubert's dinner roll
• Pepperidge Farm's gold fish crackers
• Sunburst cherry tomatoes with ranch dressing in the rainbow cup
• Yoplait dye-free yogurt
• Pink Lady Apple wedges
• Kit-Kat mini candy piece

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Heart fairy bread sandwich...

There's lotsa love in the lunchbox today. My little guy loves fairy bread sandwiches, and I haven't made one for him in a very long time. I came across these cute heart shaped sprinkles on sale at Hobby Lobby the other day, and they very quickly found their way into my shopping basket. So, heart sprinkles....heart shaped cutter....all added up to a heart shaped fairy bread sammy. These are fun and easy little sandwiches to make, and kids LOVE them.

What you need to make a fairy bread sandwich: 
Two slices of bread
Soft fillings (PB&J, Sunbutter, cream cheese & jelly, Nutella, etc.)
Medium cookie cutter, any shape
Small cookie cutter, any shape, about an inch in diameter
Sprinkles, nonpareils, jimmies, sanding sugar

1. Use the medium sized cutter on each slice of bread.
2. Use the small cutter to cut out the center of one of the slices of bread.
3. Assemble the sandwich, then, fill the cavity with your sprinkles of choice.
Easy peasy!!

I chose to use the same shape medium and small cutter. But, you could mix up the shapes (heart shaped sandwich with butterfly cutout, i.e.) and make many cute fairy bread sandwich designs. You could easily adapt this sandwich for any occasion or holiday by changing up the cutter and sprinkles.

This is also a great sandwich to let the kidlets help out- it's easy, fun, and isn't too messy. My little guy loves to help out when I make them.

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• peanut butter and strawberry all-fruit spread heart shaped fairy bread sandwich
• Balsamic grilled chicken strips hiding under the sandwich and napkin- This was the last of the Balsamic chicken that I bought at Whole Foods the other day. (See previous post.)
• Rold Gold mini pretzels
• Motts natural applesauce with a strawberry heart
• cantaloupe cubes
• baby carrots with Ranch dressing in the "luv u" box for dipping

Linked to: What's for lunch Wednesday

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

   

Planes, Trains, & Boats...

Well, tomorrow is a big day around here, Friends. Huge milestone for my 15 yr old...I'm taking him to get his driving learner's permit. All this nervousness of mine....for what? He has been very responsible and has prepared well for the written test, and he's attended a professional driving school. So, I'm certain that he's going to pass the test. And, the hubs has insisted offered to be the driving teacher in our fam. (Ok...I'm actually kind of glad for this.) But, it scares me sometimes to think of my baby out there on the road with all the crazies. Seems like only yesterday he was driving a tricycle. It's really hard to let our kids grow up sometimes, isn't it? Our kidlet's grow up in the blink of an eye, don't they? So, think about me tomorrow around 3:00...I'll be the parent of a teenage driver. Holy Mackerel!! Please pray I remain sane!! HaHa!

The little guy wanted his lunch in the Goodbyn Bynto today. He chose these cute transportation picks. These picks started out as buttons...yep, buttons. Give me a hot glue gun, and I can turn just about anything into a cute lunch accessory. Food grade plastic picks + hot glue gun + buttons= super cute lunch picks! Get your hot glue gun out, Friends, and see what kind of cuteness you can create.

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• peanut butter and strawberry all-fruit spread sandwich
• cheddar cheese crackers
• natural applesauce
• Hershey's milk chocolate square
• carrot rounds
• red seedless grapes

I added a few fun transportation themed picks for a bit of cuteness.

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Baby, it's cold outside!!

Well, the title of this post says it all....Baby, it's COLD outside. The high this morning was 8* with a windchill of -10*. Yes, I know that there a lots of places with colder weather than this, but for the M-town, this is fridged. You know it's cold when my cold loving Spoo refuses to be outside for more than 5 minutes...even with his sweater on. (What!! Your dog doesn't have a winter sweater? Ok...I admit. He's pretty pampered.) The weather man is predicting some frozen precip on Sunday, so you bet I have some happy kids. Snow is a rarity around here, so I myself wouldn't be too disappointed by the fluffy white stuff. So, winter is the theme for today's lunch in our Goodbyn Bynto.

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• Natural Selects nitrate free hotdog and black olive mini skewers
• Honeycrisp apple wedges
• four bean salad with mittens pick
• Yoplait lemon yogurt with snowman shaped cupcake icing decoration 
• small square of brownie brittle
• Rold Gold cheddar cheese pretzels

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Goodbyn Animal Friends

We are really enjoying our Goodbyn Bynto lunchbox. We've been using it for a few weeks now, and I can honestly say that this is a great lunchbox. The only "con" about the Bynto is that it is not leakproof. My little guy normally carries all of his lunchboxes flat so leaking is not a major concern for me most of the time. But, just to be cautious, I always put foods like yogurt and applesauce in a lidded container when using the Bynto. However, wouldn't a leakproof Bynto be ever so awesome? HELLO......Goodbyn Bynto  people....are you listening?? LOL  Well, we love the Bynto so much, we'll certainly keep on using it leakproof or not. It was just announced, too, that the Goodbyn Bento will be coming out in a purple color soon.....can't wait to see that!

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto.

• Natural Selects Bologna roll ups 
• Rold Gold honey wheat pretzel sticks
• Babybel cheese
• baby carrot sticks and Sungold cherry tomatoes
• red seedless grapes
• natural applesauce in the yellow cup

I added a few cute animal picks for fun.

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Cute can be quick...

Giving the Goodbyn Bynto a go again today. It was quite a hit the other day. The little guy really likes this lunchbox....he requested it today. I like that my jumbo silicone cups fit nicely in the Goodbyn, too. I love the jumbo cups....I can find so many great uses for them. I put this lunch together in about 15 minutes....no special tools or cutters needed. Just goes to show cute can be quick!

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto .

• Natural Selects bologna spirals- I cut a round slice of bologna into three pieces and rolled each piece into a spiral. I then cut a stick of string cheese into thirds and placed the pieces between the bologna. 
• cantaloupe chunks
• Rold Gold mini pretzels
• Chobani yogurt
• Sungold cherry tomatoes with ranch dressing in the orange cup
• green olives
• Hershey's cookies and cream square

Linked to: Eats Amazing/ Fun Food Friday

Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch:

Ladybug Goodbyn Bynto

Eeeeeeek!! Isn't this a super cute lunchbox?! This is a Goodbyn Bynto. I have looked at this lunchbox a dozen times at my local Target and passed it up. I love my Easy Lunch Boxes and the Yumbox, but I have been looking for a lunchbox with a different interior design. So, on a whim, I decided to pick one up. WOW!! I love this lunchbox! As you can tell, it is very roomy, and I like having the 3 different sized compartments. There's a lot of room for creativity with the Goodbyn Bynto, too. At first, I thought it would be too big to fit flat in the lunchbags that I use for Z's lunches. But, to my surprise, it fits in every bag that I have for him. It fits well in the EasyLunchboxes Cooler Bag. I also have the Target Embark Personal lunchbag, and it fits great in this bag. The lid snaps on very easily, too, which is great for little hands. And, it comes in several fun colors...red, blue, green, and pink. Best of all, it can go in the dishwasher...and I LOVE that! So, I'm looking forward to making some super cute Goodbyn Bynto lunches.

This lunch is packed in the Goodbyn Bynto .

• Natural Selects ham sandwich cut into the shape of a ladybug- I cut a slice of cheddar cheese in the ladybug shape and placed it on top of the sandwich and added candy icing eyes.
• white cheddar cheese Nips
• baby carrots with ranch dressing in the green oval cup- I added a cute ladybug pick.
• red seedless grapes and strawberries in the ladybug cup
• rainbow popcorn- We picked this up when we were in Gatlinburg last week. It is delish! Each color is a different flavor. Not the healthiest choice, but oh, so gooood!

Linked to: Bentolunch.net/ What's for lunch Wednesday
                Beneficial Bento/ Fancy Sandwich Friday
                Eats Amazing/ Fun Food Friday



Some of the things, or similar things, that I used to make this lunch: