10 Non-Sandwich School Lunch Ideas In Planetbox

It has been a couple of weeks since we started back to school, and it looks like we made it! We are, however, still getting used to our new sleeping schedules, waking up schedules. Nikolai has been quite cooperative open to compromise. We offered an arrangement  accepting a later bedtime but with the agreement that each grade on a report card that was less than 95%, would adjust the time earlier by half an hour.  He took the deal, and I am hopeful that it will work out well. I don't expect he would have any difficulty as he has always done better than that.

I've combined several of Nikolai's lunches packed in his Planetbox in this one post. They are non-sandwich lunches which he had enjoyed a while back.
You can see that Planetbox is one of the lunchboxes that we used quite often and it's one of our favorites. It's easy to pack, easy to wash, very durable and will last for many years to come!

I'll try to describe what we included when packing each of these lunches.

Bento lunch 1: Main compartment contains nitrate free ham and string cheese cut into pieces for kebabs with an organic granola bar. Sides are grapes, sugar snap peas, hummus in the small dipper, a Yogurt covered star and organic cheese crackers.

Bento lunch 2: Lunchables style lunch with nitrate free pepperoni and crackers in the main compartment. Sides are apple slices, celery sticks with dip in the small container, a yogurt covered star, cheese stick above a granola bar.

Bento lunch 3: Another lunchables style lunch with nitrate free pepperoni, string cheese and crackers in the main compartment. Sides are Annie's organic crackers, celery sticks and baby carrots, a yogurt covered star and organic apple slices. I thought the 'eye' picks made it fun!

Bento lunch 4: Main compartment contains a bagel with cream cheese and a granola bar. Sides are goldfish crackers, chocolate chips, grapes and orange slices. I'm pretty sure that this was one day that I needed to go grocery shopping.

Bento lunch 5: Mini waffle sandwiches with cream cheese in the main compartment. Sides are red and green grapes, baby carrots, chocolate chips and goldfish crackers. Packed in our Planetbox.

Bento lunch 6: Crackers and cheese for the main section with ham roll-ups above. In the other sections I included organic fruit snack, rice krispies bar and grapes.

Bento lunch 7: An English muffin with eye picks and carrot mouth (a little like Hubby after too much T.V. ... Just kidding!), orange slices, chocolate chips (What a combination!), celery sticks, baby carrots, and Annie's organic crackers.

Bento lunch 8: Main compartment contains waffle sandwiches with cream cheese. Sides are a ham kebab, orange slices, chocolate chips, organic granola bar and Annie's organic crackers.

Bento lunch 9: Tortilla wrap cut into half with eye picks and an organic granola bar in the main compartment. Sides are grapes, orange slices, baby carrots, fruit snacks, Babybel cheese and crackers.

Bento lunch 10: Mac and cheese in the main compartment, Nikolai doesn't mind eating it at room temperature...works for me!. Sugar snap peas with a cute bear pick, pretzels, yogurt covered raisins, cantaloupe and grapes.

Below is a collage that I made for those who might like to pin.

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Back To School Lunch

It's that time of the year again which has always been a bittersweet time for me - Back To School! Today is the first day of school for us and Nikolai will be in Grade 7, all advance classes.
We had a blast during our summer holidays, mostly traveling, which has become our summer tradition over the years. While we were fully equipped with GPS and On Star, Nikolai is such an excellent navigator that even before I could get unpacked from the most recent trip he opened the map and started charting the next!

Lunch packing? I've no idea where to start; could I have lost my lunch packing mojo before or during the summer break? I do know when to start, and when is now. I've always found it to be great fun to make a cute lunch for him on the first day of school. This will be his first bento of this school year as I get back into groove, slowly but surely.

In this bento lunch:  I made a couple of sandwiches in the shape of the classic yellow No.2 pencil. Mild cheddar cheese trimmed in a zig-zag pattern covers most of it, a sandwich meat eraser part with the band made from the end of the loaf makes up one end, a bit of raisin makes the tip. Also in the main section is a granola bar. In the two other sections I included some organic baby carrots and some red and green grapes. This bento was packed in his Easylunchboxes.

I wish all of you a great start to another school year and your children great success with their studies.

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Review: Sailor Bags Backpack, Messenger Bag and Duffel Bag

I am totally ecstatic to share my high opinion of these great bags. Sailor Bags is a maker of premiere quality bags of genuine sailcloth with that fun and fashionable nautical theme. They are excellent for conveniently transporting everything from what might be needed for a short overnight at a beach resort to taking to school.

Their bags are truly beautiful not only in appearance but also in function!

Now in middle school years, our son has become a backpack expert, and he has chosen the Backpack / Silver Spinnaker Daypack featured here. Hubby has forsaken his other bags and briefcase for the Tri-Sail Messenger described in this post, and I am thinking of all kinds of fun places to take the Newport Square Duffel.

Their Silver Spinnaker Daypack is just one of the designs among many in their selection of backpacks and shoulder bags. It has three large compartments which are great for books, clothing and other needed items. It even has a built-in, soft-lined laptop sleeve in one that is fully-padded and should fit any laptop computer up to 17 inch size. The front compartment has multiple interior pockets, including a zippered pocket, for organizing all of those charging cables, ear phones, stylus pens and other accessories.

On the sides are mesh pockets for water bottles, sun protection lotion, or flip-flops; here in Florida such features are important! Also very much appreciated are the contoured, padded shoulder straps and back panels made of ventilated, moisture-wicking mesh, which makes this bag a joy to use.

This bag is made from the finest materials with top of the line trim. The outer fabric is made from lightweight and durable rip-stop which is both water and stain resistant. They use YKK zippers and hardware, super tough webbing, and meticulous construction which you will appreciate forever. They are so well made that Sailor Bags confidently offer a guarantee for life.

The outside dimensions are approximately 19"H x 13"W x 5"D, but somehow the inside seems even bigger!

The Tri-Sail Messenger, shown below, fits hubby's Apple laptop like it was tailor made for it. He especially likes the wide and comfortable shoulder strap with its non slip shoulder pad and the many extra compartments of different sizes for taking along charger, portable drives and other peripherals.

Hubby says the zig-zag sewing is first rate and I think the bright colors have that young and sporting look. As with the backpack, construction is meticulous, and has a guarantee for life.

In the photos above you can see that they have one zippered pocket inside and handy hook and loop closures for the many other compartments and also the cover flap which keeps things where they belong and yet easy to access.

For me one of the true pleasures is the impromptu overnight or weekend getaway. Our whole family loves them and living in Florida provides year-round opportunities to stuff a small bag with a couple changes of clothes, toiletries, maybe a camera, and enjoy another adventure. I honestly can't remember or imagine a bag that captures the spirit and serves the function quite like this smaller Newport Square Duffel. Like the others, it is made with their genuine sailcloth exterior, marine grade zippers, corrosion-resistant metal hardware, brightly colored and tough webbing with their signature sail maker's zig-zag stitching.

In addition to the spacious main compartment there is a very convenient front pocket for easy access to smaller items like keys and phone.

The outside dimensions are 9 inches high by 14 inches wide and 7 inches in diameter. I like the size which is easy to carry, holds what I need to take and still has some space for souvenirs. Whether for after school activities or a fun weekend this is a bag that we will use often!

Bags like these, along with many other styles and sizes can be found at the Sailor Bags website. I also want to mention that almost any product you find on at their site can be personalized using their custom embroidery option.

Sailor Bags are truly well made and we especially love that they are so lightweight and great looking!

Disclosure: Sailor Bags generously provided me with the items for review without cost to me. Other than receiving the items, I have not received any compensation to write this review. All opinions are my own.

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