Star Student Yumbox

The little guy was so happy with his Star Student lunch on Monday that he asked me to make him another one today.  Well, you bet I will!! So, today I'm sending his Yumbox. If you missed my review of the Yumbox, you can read it HERE. 

This lunch is packed in the Yumbox.

*star shaped Applegate ham
*sweet corn with carrot rounds on top ( I used an extra small star cutter to cut out the centers of the carrots. The official taste tester, our poodle, gobbled up the tiny star centers.)
*pretzel balls
*strawberries, blueberries, and a slice of starfruit
*Yoplait yogurt with a frozen blue Trix yogurt star in the middle (We love Trix yogurt because it has no artificial colors, flavors, or other yucky stuff.) I used a star shaped silicone jello mold to freeze the  Trix yogurt, and then, after frozen, I added it on top of the other yogurt. The yogurt star will thaw by
lunchtime and helps to keep the other yogurt cold.
*Craisins in the treat/dip cup
*linked to: Five Little Chefs/ Fantastic Thursday
                  Eats Amazing/ Fun Food Friday


Starfruit is not usually a fruit that Z eats with gusto. I love it, but he always says that it tastes bitter to him. I've been on a mission lately to get him to eat a wider variety of fruit and veggies. He's very agreeable to trying new foods, which is great, but fruits that are bitter or sour don't appeal to him as much. So, I sprinkled a tiny bit of all-natural Stevia sweetener on the starfruit and gave him some. His response... "I love this fruit, Mom!" Hmmmm....while I don't expect starfruit to replace the strawberries, grapes, or apples that he loves so much, I may try to add it into our fruit rotation more.


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

Star Student...

I am so proud of my little guy! Friday, Z came home from school so excited because he was chosen to be the Star Student of the Week for this week. This really is a big deal because there are only 8 star students chosen in each grade the entire school year. (Each 1st grade class chooses one star student a month for the months September- April.) Of course, there are many privileges that go along with being the Star Student. The star student gets to be the line leader all week long. They get to sit at a special table at  lunchtime. Your picture goes on the Star Student board by the office, and on Friday afternoon, all the Star Students for the week get to have a popsicle party.

So, it is only fitting that my Star Student gets a star themed lunch today. Great job, Z!! You are always my star.

This lunch is packed in Easy Lunch Boxes.
*star shaped Applegate bologna and American cheese sandwich with bologna and cheese stars on top
*cheddar cheese pretzels
*blueberries and starfruit slices
*baby carrots with ranch dressing in the star box
*all-natural applesauce with a few star sprinkles on top
*linked to: BentoLunch.net/ What's for lunch Wednesday
                  Sun Scholars/ For the kids Fridays


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

Pandas and Potstickers for lunch...

Ughhhhh!!!! This has definitely been one of "those" weeks. Let me see. Crazy...frustrating...insane...circus...Yeah, that about sums it up. Oh, OK. So you moms out there know exactly what type of week I'm talking about..the "Calgon take me away" every night kind of week. I haven't posted a lunch all week. Whoa there....calm down everyone! I promise I've still been sending lunch for the little guy, just not anything worth blogging about. But, hopefully I'm past all the craziness (fingers crossed). Actually, I think I've enjoyed the mini break this week. (Although, I have not enjoyed the antics of a sock-eating poodle this week. Um, yeah. Long story!) 

So, I'm going pretty easy today for Z's lunch...last night's leftovers of veggie potstickers, EZ mac (yes, I know...loaded with artificial stuff. It's been one of "those" weeks, remember?), and green beans. 

This lunch is packed in Easy Lunch Boxes.
*vegetable potstickers with a panda baran on top
*EZ Mac - macaroni and cheese
*strawberries with a panda pick and a Halo mandarin orange
*all-natural applesauce
*green beans with ranch dressing in the panda pot
*linked to: Becoming a Bentoholic/ Leftovers on Friday
                  Bento for Kidlet/ Meatless Monday

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

Mini hearts Fairy bread sandwich....

I really love fairy bread sandwiches, and I love hearts. So, why not combine the two, I say. I put a different spin on this heart fairy bread sandwich....instead of 1 big heart in the middle of the bread, I made several small hearts. I really like how the apple turned out, too.  I cut a small apple in half, carved out the center into the shape of a heart, and filled it with Craisins.....sort of an apple bowl, I guess. 

To make a "Fairy bread sandwich", cut out any shape of your choosing from the top slice of bread. A cookie cutter works great for this. Then, fill the cavity with any sprinkles you like. I used Wilton Valentine confetti sprinkles. Simple as that! 

This lunch is packed in Easy Lunch boxes.
*almond butter and all-fruit spread heart fairy sandwich with Wilton confetti sprinkles
*pretzel snaps
*sweet peas with heart shaped carrots on top
*Fuji apple bowl filled with Craisins
*linked to:  Bentolunch.net/ What's for lunch Wednesday
                   Following in my Shoes/ I heart lunch
                   Polka dots on Parade/ Wow me Wednesday
                   Becoming Martha/ Creative Connection
                   Funky Polkadot Giraffe/ Too Cute Tuesday



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

Superheroes week....

This week is superheroes week at Z's school. This entire week is devoted to all the kids' favorite superheroes. On Tuesday, the kids were invited to get up in class and tell who their favorite was, and why they like that superhero the best. I was privileged to attend this tell-all. First graders are some of the most creative and funny little people ever.Who knew that Aquaman was a superhero! And I never knew that Wonder Woman's car was made out of bubble gum. Her jet is invisible so this makes sense, right?? On Wednesday, the kids went to art class and drew pictures of their faves. Today, the kids get to dress up like their favorite superhero, and have a superhero party in the afternoon....so much fun for the kiddos. Of course, today's lunch had to be a superhero lunch. Z chose Superman as his favorite superhero, but I already had these cute Batman cupcake rings. So, Batman got the lunch honor. Z was quite happy with Batman, though.

This lunch is packed in Easy Lunch Boxes.
*bat shaped almond butter and all-fruit spread sandwich with Batman cupcake ring in the middle
*white cheddar cheese Nips
*green beans with Batman cupcake ring
*black olives
*strawberries and 1/2 a Halo orange with the word "BAM" spelled out with letter picks
*linked to: Eats Amazing/ Fun Food Friday
                  Bentos on the Bayou/ Fifteen minute Fridays
                  Sun Scholars/ For the kids Friday

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

Yumbox full of hearts

I hope that you all read my Yumbox review from a few days ago. We are really enjoying it. Today's lunch features a Yumbox full of hearts. Hearts just make you happy any time of the year, don't they?

In this lunch:
*Natural Selects bologna cut into heart shapes
*heart shaped strawberries
*green beans with ranch dressing in the heart box
*pretzel snaps
*black olives
*Yoplait yogurt with 'LOVE' candy decoration on top
*Hershey's kiss
*linked to:



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