(Caprese kabobs via Skinny Taste)
(Food as art via Bento Lunch)
The D offices are closed today for a little holiday, so I’m working from the comfort of my home…which also means that I can squeeze in lunch dates at school with both girlies. (Or, in the case of my youngest, brunch, as her class eats at, wait for it…10:25, but I digress.)
The whole school lunch thing is a bit of a conundrum for me. I want to make creative, delicious, fun lunches for the girls, but somehow I can’t seem to break out of my peanut butter on whole wheat/yogurt/fruit rut. So most days (bored of the aforementioned trio), the girls beg to buy their lunch at school. And while school lunch has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years (our menu features things like steamed squash and fresh fruit), it’s still lacking.
So I’ve been doing a little research in an attempt to suss out new lunch ideas. There are some good ideas out there. Standouts include the bento box goodness discovered by D’s online food editor Carol Shih and the parade of cute + tasty skewers from Skinny Taste that our awesome D Moms managing editor Allison Hatfield sent my way… I mean what kiddo doesn’t like food on a stick? And heart-shaped cherry tomatoes? Yes, please.
I’m working these bad boys into our weekly rotation stat. I’ll let you know how it goes.
3 comments
I do Bento lunches for my kid when I am not feeling so lazy. His fave bento is when I make these super weird looking hot dog octopuses (octopi?) with ketchup to dip them, triangled pieces of whet bread, jello, fruit juice. He has a panda bento and little animal sticks. At 8 he’s getting a little old for all the cute stuff but he’ll still ask for them every so often. What about pb/j on Matzoh? That was always my fave as a kid.
I have this book and love it. http://www.amazon.com/Yum-Yum-Bento-Box-Recipes-Adorable/dp/1594744475/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349103691&sr=1-2&keywords=bento
Some of the stuff is odd, but lots of great ideas. Be careful as Bento’ing is addictive.
For more ideas, you may try these lunches : http://www.ideesalunch.com/
Our parents love the bento box idea because they’re healthy, fun, eco-friendly, economical and perfect for picky-eaters. It allows you to be as creative as you want and make elaborate boxes or focus more on nutrition if food design isn’t quite your thing! Some of our favorite foods to include in bento box lunches are paninis, healthy corn dog muffins, homemade fig bars and even bean salad!