Bento Lunch #423: Dinosaurs bento and No Bake Energy Bites with Recipe

Nikolai learned how to make these energy bites from his gifted and talented class at school. He requested to make them at home so we got the ingredients yesterday. Here is the recipe we used. I included some in his dinosaurs bento lunch today.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry oatmeal (we used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup Sunbutter (you could also use Almond butter or Peanut Butter)
• 1 cup ground flaxseed 
• 1 cup chocolate chips 
• 1 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup honey

Method:

1. In a bowl, begin mixing the SunButter and honey together.
2. Add the oatmeal and flaxseed and continue mixing.
3. Combine the chocolate chips and raisins.
4. Continue mixing all of the ingredients thoroughly.
5. Chill the mix in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour.
6. Once chilled, remove from refrigerator and roll into balls of whatever size you prefer. 
7. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated. I am sure ours will be gone in a couple of days at most; they are so yummy!! 

Note: Feel free to substitute the ingredients above or add more to your liking. I have seen recipes using coconut flakes, almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, dried fruits, vanilla extract and more.

In this bento lunch:

• Dinosaur shaped whole wheat sandwiches with icing eyes and cucumber slices plates on back. No bake energy bites as stones below dinosaurs (recipe above).
• Cucumber slices.
• Strawberry slices and seedless green grapes. Packed in an Easylunchboxes container. Linked to BentoLunch.net
• Linked to BentoBlogNetwork.com

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Paris bento

I was looking through my 'labels' and noticed that this is my 50th bento lunch packed in one of our favorite lunch boxes, Trudeau Fuel Everest.
Surely there have been many more lunches or snacks I have packed in them which I did not blog about.

These boxes are very reasonable in price and they last for years, we have been using ours since Nikolai was in Kindergarten and they are still in very good condition after so many years. If you like to get ideas from my lunches in this box, go over to my 'labels' where you will find them under 'fuel box'. I have also written a review of these boxes last year which can be found here.
We love Paris and I am hoping that we can visit there again sometime soon. For the meantime, here is a Paris bento that I made today.

In this bento lunch:

• Whole wheat sandwich thins, Eiffel tower is organic fruit leather cut with a cookie cutter, colby lettering and a heart pick.
• Organic baby carrots and two large strawberries.

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: World Penguin Day with Penguins fishing bento

On the 25th of April every year, we celebrate World Penguin Day. Nikolai is a big fan of Club Penguin and frequently we are surprised by his sketches of little penguins and his own virtual penguin world he created with a program called Alice.

Note: If you like what I am doing here, I would also love for you to follow my Facebook page since I post more often there with some cute and fun foods which I occasionally find on the web.

In this bento lunch:

• A couple of penguins catching fish! Penguins are sandwiches shaped with cutter, beaks and feet from the edges of the same cutter and trimmed( colby cheese). Flippers are freehand cut from fruit leather as was fishing line at end of pretzel fishing pole. The "ice" they are standing on is a mozzarella string cheese stick, and the little fish are Pepperidge Farms Goldfish crackers. Hats are food picks and icing eyes.
• Penguin shaped watermelon slices and seedless red grapes.
• Organic baby carrots in penguin shaped cup with a penguin pick. Linked to BentoBlogNetwork.com
• Linked to Lunchbox Dad: Throwback Thursday

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Pearled Couscous and Meatballs bento

Whenever we leave the house in the mornings, we see some cute little squirrels around the neighborhood trees and Nikolai looks forward to seeing them every morning.
I made roasted garlic and olive oil pearl couscous this morning and included a squirrel shaped cheese on top of it and I am sure he will be thrilled to see it during his lunch time.

In this bento lunch:

• Main compartment - Pearled couscous with olive oil and a squirrel shaped cheese cut out in big dipper.
• Lower left - Organic baby spinach, organic baby carrots and cherry tomatoes.
• Upper left -Apple slices with a cute squirrel and an acorn pick.
• Center - Yogurt covered star from Trader Joe's
• Upper right - Organic meatballs topped with a baran. Packed in Planetbox Rover.

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Tulips bento

This lunch is super fast, simple and easy to make. I haven't been grocery shopping yet for the week and I had to get by with what I had on hand to make this lunch.

In this bento lunch:

• Tulip shaped SunButter sandwiches and seedless red grapes.
• Cherry tomatoes in a small tulip shaped cup and organic peas.
• Tulip shaped cantaloupe and watermelon. Linked to:

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Earth Day Bento 2013

It is the time of the year, April 22, when we dedicate Earth Day to reflect on nature and what one can do to help better our little part of the planet. We went to several events yesterday, reached home late and I thought of asking Nikolai to have school lunch today, but decided, at the last minute, that I will put together this simple bento to celebrate Earth Day.

In this bento lunch:

• Main section: Whole wheat sandwich thin with free hand-cut recycling symbol made from colby cheese, tree is organic baby spinach with pretzel stick as trunk.
• Upper left: Red and green apple slices.
• Upper right: Organic spinach salad with mini heart shaped carrots. Ranch for dip in small container.
• Far right edge: Fork wrapped in cloth napkin. Packed in Laptop Lunches.

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Lego Lunch In A Lego Box

I have had these lego boxes for a while now and have packed many lunches in them. I noticed that I have not packed any lego themed lunch and decided to make one today.

I used the cover from the smaller blue lego box to cut the bread, how easy is that. I took 3 pictures of this lego lunch box, please scroll down to see how neatly the blue box fits inside the red box. I used the blue box quite often for snacks during the weekend and often incorporate it with other lunch boxes. Have a great weekend!

Showing the blue lego box with cover.

Closed perfectly and ready to go

In this bento lunch:

• Lego shaped sandwiches (stacked), I used a small circle cutter for the bread top and glued with honey.
• Square shaped mozzarella and mild cheddar cheese and used the same small circle cutter for the top.
• Organic apple sauce in blue lego box topped with organic fruit leather lettering.
• Square shaped cantaloupe and watermelon in a square silicone cup.
• Sugar snap peas and ranch for dip in small blue container. Linked to BentoBlogNetwork.com

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Swirl pumpernickel and rye bread Elephant themed bento

I have made many simple bentos but I think this is the most simple one of all. My hubby loves pumpernickel bread and he purchased this swirl rye and pumpernickel bread which I kind of like since I love rye bread myself.

In this bento lunch:

• Main section: Pumpernickel and rye swirl bread with an elephant pick and a couple of seedless red grapes.
• Upper left: Sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes and ranch for dip in an elephant container
• Upper right: Elephant shaped cantaloupe which I used a small cutter and stamp to make.
• Far right edge: Pretzels. Packed in Laptop Lunches.
• Linked to: 

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Peeking Bear Waffle sandwich, breakfast for lunch bento

Does the waffle look like a peeking bear? When I cut the waffle in half, the idea of giving it a face came to my mind. I must say that I overslept today and my mind seemed quite foggy when I started making this bento.

In this bento lunch:

• Eggo waffle and MorningStar Farms grillers veggie burger cut in half. Mild cheddar cheese ears ( I used a circle cutter and then cut the cheese into half), mozzarella cheese eyes with nori pupils and a raisin nose.
• Seedless red grapes with a bear pick.
• Crinkle cut carrots with a container of ranch for dipping.
• Linked to BentoLunch.net

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Pocket Sandwiches bento using gyoza press

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent most of my weekend cleaning out our closets and donating most of Nikolai's winter clothing as well as his last year's summer clothing which he has outgrown. Looks like I have a lot of shopping to do this week whenever I get a chance. Pocket sandwiches using gyoza/dumpling press are easy and fun to make.

In this bento lunch:

• SunButter pocket sandwiches using gyoza press and topped with a cute face colby cheese. Strawberries with picks and pretzels at the bottom.
• Edamame in a bucket food cup with a flower cupcake pick.
• Organic apple sauce with tiny grapes in mini-dippers. Packed in an EasyLunchboxes container.

Here are the supplies that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Baked Fish bento

I woke up earlier than usual today and decided to do some baking. I baked some fish sticks and added some cheese sticks instead of chips for Nikolai today.

 In this bento lunch:

• Main compartment - Fish sticks above a bed of salad.
• Upper left - Annie's organic crackers and ranch in little dipper for the salad.
• Upper right - Seedless green grapes kebabs.
• Center - Yogurt covered star from Trader Joe's
• Lower left - Half of a granola bar and mozzarella cheese cut into sticks shapes. Packed in Planetbox Rover.

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Square shaped egg and french toast sticks breakfast for lunch

I purchased some 'jumbo' eggs which worked well with our MonBento square egg molds. For some reason it is not showing clearly on my picture but it says " BON APPETIT" on the egg.

In this bento lunch:

• Crinkle cut carrots and Italian dressing for dip in small rainbow container.
• Strawberry slices and a seedless green grape middle.
• French toast sticks in jumbo silicone mold with a rainbow baran.
• Organic maple syrup for french toast in mini-dipper and a square shaped egg. ~ Bon Appetit~
• Linked to: 

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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Bento Lunch: Butterfly Filled bento

We received information that school here will be ending for the summer break in the 3rd week of May, which I think is too early. It is an occasion which produces bitter-sweet feelings for me. While it is always great to have Nikolai around with me, it also is a reminder that he is growing up too fast for me to enjoy all the tiny moments as much as I would like. Well, it is time for me to start planning our summer fun activities.

In this bento lunch:

• Top tier contains butterfly shaped sandwiches which I used our butterfly cutter and stamp for them, butterfly shaped cucumber slices and carrot slices.
• Bottom tier contains seedless green grapes and a couple of butterfly shaped strawberry slices, string cheese pieces with a cute butterfly pick. I also included a lunchbox love note that says " Did you know? Butterflies taste with their feet".
• Linked to BentoLunch.net

Here are the supplies or similar that I used to make and pack this lunch.

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