Dr. Seuss Day Lunches

Happy Dr. Seuss day! March 2nd is the birthday of a man who is regarded very highly in our household from my own childhood and in my children’s. 

I have many fond memories of learning to read with Suess’ amazing quirky stories and many more of reading them again to my own kids. There is just something about all the quirkiness and fun that draws everybody in and I haven’t met anyone that doesn’t adore his stories. My kids are lucky,  they have “The Cat in the Hat” and “The Lorax” on DVD as well as many well loved stories in our home. What better way to celebrate than by including their favourite stories in their lunchboxes today!

First up is my Kindergarten Boys lunch. Packed in his Kmart lunchbox (I really love this box for kinder) he has “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green eggs and Ham” theme:

  
I started with a vegemite cat sandwich using a cute z cute animal palz cutter, a Hat carved apple, a cheese stick with cat in the hat drawn on the packet, a fruit and veggie yoghurt, Green eggs (I opted for filling them with peas because my kids won’t eat green devilled egg) ham rolls, a blueberry and strawberry Thing 1 and some kiwiberries that have just come into season. 

My Grade 1 Boy has his favourite “The Lorax” and “Green eggs and ham” plus “Cat in the Hat”.

  
Packed in his planetbox is Ham and Pretzel Truffula Trees, yoghurt covered apricot green eggs made with a foodoodler spot, broccoli trees, carrot flowers, cat in the hat cheese stick, green eggs, baby corn and coco2 Lorax sandwich with Gouda cheese moustache (I find Gouda great for not breaking) 

Plus we will share some Seuss favorite stories tonight. 

– Mel

Lunchbox Roundup

With 2 little ones off to school and kinder we have had a whirlwind start to the year! Between my eldest needing to change class and chickenpox in the house it’s been pretty full on. 

Here is a roundup of all our lunches so far: 

   

   
    
    
    
    
  
Most are pretty self explanatory because my boys don’t really like baked items so we stick to fresh real food for the most part with a few treats here and there. Each day I strive for a balanced lunchbox with foods from each group to fuel their little bodies and minds for the day. I hope you’ve found something to try at home 😊 

– Mel

   

 

Grade 1 First 3 Lunches

It was a short week for the first week back in grade 1 for my boy. Big adjustments after the holidays so I just did some simple lunches without many picks to ease him back in. 

Wednesday:

  
Peas, corn cob, babybel cheddar, apple slices, boiled eggs, dried apricots and roast chicken spinach wraps.

Thursday:

  
Roast chicken mountain bread wraps, corn cob, apple slices, peas, boiled eggs, bagel crisps and watermelon.

Friday:

  
Peas, corn cob, apple slices, sultanas, coco2 wholemeal sandwich, grapes, cheese sticks wrapped in salaam and watermelon.

If your kids returned to school this week I hope it went well. 

– Mel

First Day of Kindergarten Lunch

My youngest is off to kinder today! This year there is something different to think of when I’m packing his lunch: I don’t need to pack it in an insulated bag because their lunches are stored in a fridge! 

I’ve never had this before, my eldest sons kinder had no fridges and neither does his school so it’s a little bit exciting and especially for my little one because he loves cold food 😊 this also saves the struggle of finding lunchbags to fit the boxes we use. 

They have the same as my eldest sons school: fruit break at 10am packed separately so I used this cute  double decker box and packed some of his favourite fruits: blackberries, strawberries and apple slices:

    
For his main lunch I have used the nude food movers Envirobox until I decide which one suits his kinder appetite best. I packed 1 and a half boiled eggs, cucumber sticks, roast chicken wholemeal roll, banana, babybel cheddar, yoghurt pouch, and sugar snap peas:

  
Once he gets home I will see what he ate and go from there as to what I pack next time. It’s all trial and error in the beginning so I stuck with foods he loves and eats at home I just need to get the amounts right because he is a big eater so may need more! 

Happy start of the year everyone, 

– Mel

Back to School Lunchbox Hacks 2016

  
It’s that time of year all the kiddies are heading back to school and kinder, you’ve organised the books and uniforms and are just waiting for the first day. But have you thought about lunch? New Years are a fresh start and it may be the first year of your little ones schooling or just a new year but either way I hope this post inspires you with lunch ideas and things to include if you want to jazz up the old lunch box. 

To start off what are you going to pack? Here’s a list of some examples to get your mind working. It’s great to try to introduce new things but if it’s their first year maybe try to include some old favourites you know your child will eat and add other things for them to try. School can cause some anxieties with all the change so just go slow. 

  
Get the printable here.
Yoghurt: if your little one loves yoghurt why not save money and the earth by packing your own in reusable pouches? You can either buy a big tub and divide between the pouches or if you feel the need you can Make your own.

  
Stop Apples from Browning: I pack sliced apples often and I just sit them into a bowl of water with some lemon juice after I’ve sliced them and then dry off on some paper towel and into the lunchbox, I find keeping the slices together helps too. 

  
Use cookie cutters: add some fun Ito lunch by cutting their sandwich or fruit into shapes using a cookie cutter. It’s super effective and kids just love it (the cut offs taste pretty good too 😊) 

  
Include a Note: add a cute printed note, write one on their banana, or turn your banana into a person by adding some features with a marker (it gets peeled off so no worries there) 

  
Make some kebabs: Fruit kebabs that is! Kids love to eat things on sticks so why not try a rainbow or some of their favorite fruits and veg. You can even make sandwich kebabs by first chopping the sandwich into small squares or circles.

  

Pack a hot lunch: we invested in a thermal food jar and my son loved having hot food at lunch time, when they open it at lunch the food is still hot so it’s a nice treat. You can pack things like leftovers from dinner, something baked or you can also use them for cold food too such as watermelon. In this picture my son had nuggets, tuna mornay and leftover butter chicken. 

  

Foodoodlers: it might sound funny but these are nifty markers made with food colouring so they are completely safe and edible. I use them on sandwiches, eggs, cheese and fruit. They really make lunch come alive.

  

Food picks: Some people love em some people hate em. We are in the love camp! You can have as few or as many as you would like but even a couple makes lunch much more fun in my sons eyes. Alphabet letters, eyes and leaves are our favorites.

  

 My best tip of all is to pack lunch the night before, I do this every day! I pack my sons lunch and refrigerate overnight. His bread is just as soft and things don’t go yucky like you might think. Give it a try and save yourself some time in the morning. 

I hope you feel inspired going into the new school year, making lunch doesn’t have to be a daunting process or a mundane thing. I made it a fun thing for me and my son and the bonus is they are so much more eager to eat it, and I am more eager to make it. 

Enjoy the new school year and don’t put too much pressure on yourself, raising little ones is one of the hardest and most rewarding things that we do. 

– Mel

Last School Lunches for 2015

Our first school year has come to an end! I didn’t realise just how busy things get with a little one at school and preparing another for kinder next year. I’m pretty glad it’s holidays now and we can start watching Christmas movies, doing Christmas crafts and baking and of course driving around finding all the Christmas lights 🎄 

Without further ado here are the last lunchboxes of the school year:

   
Thursday Lunch: gingerbread silicone cup with shredded chicken, popcorn, apricot coconut ball, apple slices, pineapple and strawberry kabob, mini cacao and date balls, yoghurt covered sultanas, twiggy stick, babybel cheese and peas.

 
Friday Lunch: RUDOLPH! My favorite of the Christmas lunches. Rudolph sandwich and boiled egg, apple, peas, apple biscuit, yoghurt covered sultanas, grapes and strawberries and apple and cherry fruit leather in the reindeer rings.

   
Monday Lunch: coco2 candy cane sandwiches, cheese stars, strawberries, peas, bagel crisps, salami stick, boiled egg, grapes and watermelon balls.

 
Tuesday Lunch: leftover butter chicken, apple slices, cacao and raspberry popcorn, apple biscuit, peas, bagel crisps, watermelon and grapes.

   
Wednesday Lunch: my second favourite Christmas lunch. Coco2 Christmas tree sandwich, mini gingerbread people, watermelon kabob, apple slices, carrot stars and strawberries.

 
Thursday Lunch: Last day of Prep Lunch! My sons graduation day lunch has apple slices, twiggy stick, peas, fruit leather squares, babybel cheese, strawberries and coco2 star sandwiches.

  
As it was graduation day we had a special Christmas class party farewell and were asked to bring a plate. My son had requested something healthy because some kids might want fun healthy food…he’s so sweet sometimes! I made up the watermelon Christmas trees by buying a whole watermelon and cutting into large discs then going along with a Christmas tree cookie cutter making the shapes. I think they turned out really cute and they were a hit because the kids gobbled them all up! 

Is your school year almost at an end? Do you have a platter to make? Hopefully I’ve given you some healthy ideas to work with. It doesn’t have to be difficult to be cute 😊 stay tuned for healthy fun food over the holidays!

– Mel

Week 8 & 9 Lunches

We’ve been super busy in the lead up to Christmas with heaps of appointments for my son so I haven’t had much chance to blog. 

Here is a lunch roundup of the past couple of weeks! 

Thursday  Lunch:  

Packed in the Planetbox: corn on cob, apple slinky, yoghurt covered sultanas, grapes, strawberries, carrot sticks, peas, babybel cheese, popcorn and chicken wraps.

Friday Lunch:

  
Peas, cheese stick, fruit leather, strawberries, apricot, cacao and date balls, popcorn and roast chicken.

Monday Lunch:

  
Spiderman theme planetbox: peas, strawberries, apple slices, grapes, cheese, boiled egg, silverside sandwich and sugar snap peas.

Tuesday Lunch:

  
First Christmas lunch of the year! Peas, cheese stars, green and red apple slices, yoghurt covered sultanas, carrot stars, grapes and coco2 sandwich.

Wednesday Lunch:

  
Second Christmas Lunch: apple slices, cherry and apple fruit leather, blackberries, yoghurt covered goji berries, corn on cob, twiggy stick, babybel cheese and coco2 Christmas tree sandwiches plus a baby banana. 

How are you going in the lead up to Christmas? School is almost finished here, the end is in sight!

– Mel

Tuesday Planetbox Lunch

Today’s lunch is a quick one, some no sandwich inspiration for you in the planetbox!

  

For my sons main today he has roast chicken in the Big Dipper and peas in the square compartment. 

  
One of his favourite things is carrot shaped carrots so I added some of those and some grapes. 

  
Plus corn on the cob, apple and cherry fruit leather, yoghurt covered sultanas, small Granny Smith apple and some strawberries.

You can tell it’s getting to the end of the year, I thought today was Wednesday! My kids are getting so excited for Christmas and the end of school. Are you prepared? We’ve only just started getting organised but it feels better to have started. 

– Mel

Monday Planetbox Lunch

There’s only 3 weeks of school left now, the countdown to Christmas Holidays is on! The weather has turned already and the days are getting hotter so I’ve packed a nice cold lunch for a hot day in the Planetbox.

  
One of my sons favorite Hot weather foods is watermelon and he always eats it all when I pack it. He also has peas, grapes and strawberries in this half of Lunch: 

  
The other half of lunch has chicken and carrot pinwheel Barley Wraps, cheese stick, cacao and date mini balls, passion fruit and mango leather and corn on the cob: 

  
Happy Monday Everyone!

– Mel

Friday Fun Planetbox

It’s the end of the week, yay! It’s been a rough one here so I’m glad there’s no school tomorrow. 

Friday’s Lunch is packed in the Planetbox, today is usually the hardest day for my son at school. He’s very worn out from the week so I decided to make a snack type lunch for him that’s easy to eat and small portions for when his attention is elsewhere. 

  
The first half of lunch is a boiled egg, carrot stars, watermelon balls and grapes. 

  

The second half of lunch is trio cheese stars, apple slices, Cacao and Date mini balls, twiggy stick and corn on the cob. 

  
The planetbox pods are so fun to work with and make all of his lunch “not touching” so it fits master Preps food requirements! We hope you have a happy weekend. 

– Mel