4 Grab and Go Muffins For School Lunch Box (with Recipe)

This school year I've been packing muffins quite often for Nikolai's school lunch. I'm definitely not a morning person, and we have to wake up way earlier since school starts earlier. You'll never find me waking up earlier than I have to, standing in the kitchen baking or cooking in the wee hours of the morning. Most days I'll pack his lunches the night before or he has to pack them in the mornings.

We usually make a batch of muffins during the weekend ( sometimes from scratch and sometimes from the box), eat some and freeze the remaining. They are super portable and will last in the fridge for days or in the freezer for months. They are especially great for busy mornings when you have to race out the door and need a grab and go breakfast, and perfect for the lunchbox, after school snacks or for anytime of the day. These lunches are packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

Below are just a few lunch ideas with muffins included.

These ham and cheese casserole muffins are our favorite muffins lately, we have made them so many times that I remember the recipe by heart now, lol.

Ingredients:

3–4 pieces whole wheat bread, torn into small pieces
3–4 slices deli ham, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin tin well.
• Drop bread pieces evenly in muffin tins until they come about 2/3 of the way up the tin.
• Sprinkle ham pieces evenly in each tin.
• Sprinkle cheese evenly in each tin.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, ground mustard, and pepper.
• Pour egg mixture evenly in each muffin tin.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through the middle.
• Enjoy!!

Bento lunch 1: A couple of ham and cheese muffins from the fridge
(Nikolai doesn't mind eating them cold, but you can also heat them up and drop them into a thermos if you prefer them hot), a granola bar, organic baby carrots and seedless grapes. Packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

These blueberry muffins are from the box, follow the instructions on the box and it's so easy and turned out tasty.

Bento lunch 2: A couple of blueberry muffins from the fridge, just pop them in the lunchbox with a granola bar and a cheese stick in the main compartment. Sides are apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon ( Nikolai's favorite way of eating apples) and seedless green grapes. Packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

It's pumpkin season once again, and we love everything pumpkin! Of course we had to make some pumpkin muffins.
There are so many recipes out there, almost all are quite similar, but this one works for me, it's simple and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

2 cups Pumpkin Pancake mix
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Pam non-stick cooking spray or muffin cups.

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• In medium bowl, stir together pancake mix until moistened. Do not over-mix.
• Spoon batter into greased or paper lined muffin pan, filling ¾ full.
• There is enough batter to fill one dozen muffin wells.
• Bake at 350º for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
• Enjoy!!

Bento lunch 3: A pumpkin pancake muffin, string cheese, granola bar, crackers, nitrate free ham roll-ups in my favorite silicone cup, organic baby carrots and an organic apple. Packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

Bento lunch 4: Turkey and cheese wrap, a couple of blueberry muffins, a granola bar, apple slices with sprinkle of cinnamon, grapes and crackers.
All of these lunches are packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

Do you have a favorite muffin recipe?

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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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4 Pumpkin Muffins For Lunch with Pancake Muffin Recipe

We are well into Fall season now, and this is my favorite time of year! We have been enjoying the flavors of pumpkin, apples and other fall favorites! I've also gotten into experimenting with some new fall recipes and have pressed my family into food tester service, lol.
These lunches are quite similar, but they were made with different sides and were enjoyed on different days. The English Muffins are Thomas' limited edition pumpkin spice. All of us like these very much.

We found some pumpkin pancake and waffle mix during a recent visit to Trader Joe's and my wonderful hubby made some pancakes with it for breakfast the other day. I used the same mix and made some of our favorite pancake muffins! These were simple and are very tasty without any toppings.

I usually add frozen organic blueberries, strawberries and chocolate chips. You can also use bacon, ham and sausage pieces if you prefer adding meat. I love the idea of baking several batches at a time and freezing the extras for those super busy mornings when we need to grab and go. These particular ones were baked the day before and I'd left some out for the next morning, the rest went into the freezer. They are very simple to make, and you get the ease of a muffin with the deliciousness of a pancake.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Pumpkin Pancake mix 
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• Pam non-stick cooking spray or muffin cups.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In medium bowl, stir together pancake mix until moistened. Do not over-mix.
3. Spoon batter into greased or paper lined muffin pan, filling ¾ full. 
4. There is enough batter to fill one dozen muffin wells.
5. Bake at 350º for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
6. Enjoy!!

In this bento lunch: A pumpkin pancake muffin, string cheese, granola bar, crackers, nitrate free ham roll-ups in my favorite silicone cup, organic baby carrots and an organic apple.

The photos below show some Thomas' limited edition pumpkin spice English muffins.

In this bento lunch: English muffin with pumpkin cream cheese spread topped with an angry bird cupcake ring, granola bar, Babybel cheese, seedless red and green grapes, Annie's organic crackers and pumpkin cookies from Trader Joe's

In this bento lunch: English muffin topped with a pumpkin shaped gummy candy, yogurt covered pumpkin shaped cookies from Trader Joe's, Babybel cheese, organic kiwi slices and baby carrots.

This is the easiest bento lunch of all: English muffin with a cute alien pick, granola bar, string cheese applesauce, a smiley face spoon and Annie's organic crackers. This is typical of the type of lunch that I pack whenever I'm low on groceries.

These fours lunches are almost similar, but with different sides. Most importantly, Nikolai loved his lunches. Yay to mom! All of these lunches were packed in our Easylunchboxes.

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4 French Toast Breakfast For Lunch Ideas

I am biased here, I would say that my hubby makes the best french toast! I never much liked French toast before I met him but now, after tasting the ones that he made, I kinda like it as does Nikolai, who loves them and often requests them for his school lunch. The French toast bentos below were made by my hubby except for the French toast sticks which I got from my freezer stash. We like to stock up on some frozen breakfast items for times when we need quick and easy, grab and go.

The first breakfast for lunch, shown in the photo below, and packed in our leak-proof Yumbox , is so easy. While hubby was cooking more French toast, I added some features to the ones that I helped packed in the Yumbox. I used a small circle cutter for the cheddar ears and provolone nose, raisin eyes and nori accent for the nose. Does it look like a bear? His sides were organic maple syrup, organic apple sauce and orange slices.

The second breakfast for lunch was from my freezer stash, with the French toast heated in the toaster oven. The sides were organic granola bar cut into half, grapes, organic maple syrup, strawberry yogurt with a strawberry cut into star shape and some organic crackers. This lunch was packed in a leak-proof Bentgo lunchbox.

This third breakfast for lunch French toast was also made by my hubby and I added a smiley face to it, raisin eyes and nori mouth with a cap pick, easy peasy! Sides were organic apple sauce, seedless grapes, organic maple syrup in the small container, Trader Joe's yogurt stars and a spoon wrapped in cloth napkin. This lunch was packed in a Bentology lunchbox.

The fourth French toast breakfast for lunch was also packed in our leak-proof Yumbox. I added a baran sheet for cuteness. Alongside are Chobani Greek yogurt, organic maple syrup and seedless grapes with a pick.

Here are the supplies that I used to create and pack these lunches.

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Stasher Storage Bag Review

Our family is always interested in helping to conserve resources and protect the environment and especially with waste which presents a hazard for wildlife. Using disposable plastic bags is much more expensive than many would think, taking into account their long lived disposal problem.

Stasher, the maker of the self-sealing, airtight, non-plastic bags made of pure platinum silicone, has sent me one of their silicone bags. Nikolai is wildly excited about their contribution to a sustainable environment, and I am very impressed with their ease of use. These will become my go-to bags for traveling with snacks. They are very durable, which means you needn't worry about cleaning cracker crumbs from the bottom of your child's backpack. You can freeze food in them and even cook food in them. When they return from your family's adventures, you don't throw them in the trash to become a problem forever, you put them in the dishwasher or hand wash to have them ready for their next use.

The award winning design features an airtight seal so I don't have to worry about food going stale if my son didn't finish everything. Size matters also, and these are perfect for fruits, veggies, crackers, cookies, and other treats for after school activities. In the photo below I have a breakfast for lunch and my Stasher to keep some popcorn fresh. Photos above also show organic baby carrots in the Stasher for snacks.

The Stasher bag, with its pinch-press airtight seal, can be used to store many other things as well such as makeup, vitamins, USB drives, jewelry, school supplies, and the list goes on. For more ideas and complete information please click here to visit their website.

Disclosure: Stasher generously provided me with the product for review without cost to me. Other than receiving the product, I have not received any compensation to write this review.

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5 Lunches Packed In 10 Minutes Or Less

The end of the school year for us is approaching soon, well, not that soon, but time seems to be flying by way too fast lately. I think I've lost my bento making mojo along the way and all I've been packing are quick and easy lunches. I've a bunch of cute lunches which I've made and I'm planning to share those some other time or maybe next school year.

I want to share with y'all what I've been packing recently. Some are the lunches shown below and some are leftovers from dinner which are not pictured here. Packed lunches don't need to be perfect, and as long as Nikolai is healthy and happy, that's all that matters! All of these lunches were packed in our Easylunchboxes container.

In this bento lunch: Main compartment contains roll-ups in a large silicone cup and organic apple slices. Top left is an organic granola bar cut into half and top right are orange slices.

In this bento lunch: We had dinner at Bob Evans restaurant the other day and purchased their cherry bread which was delicious! Included a couple of slices in the main compartment with a baran sheet, alongside are nitrate free salami slices in a silicone cup and a Babybel cheese. Top left are some organic baby carrots with a cherry baran sheet, and top right are some strawberries.

In this bento lunch: Main compartment contains an English muffin with eyeglasses pick and half of a raisin for mouth, alongside is a cereal bar. Top left are organic baby carrots and ranch for dip in the small container, and top right are seedless green grapes in a silicone cup.

In this breakfast for lunch: Main compartment contains mini pancakes and sausages from our freezer stash. Top left is a cereal bar cut into half, Annie's organic crackers and pure maple syrup in our leak proof mini-dipper. This lunch was sent warm in our Warm & Tote bag. He also had some fruits on the side which is not pictured.

In this bento lunch: Main compartment contains a sandwich which I used a small butterfly cutter for the cut out and a string cheese on the bottom. Top left are watermelon cubes and top right and seedless organic grapes with a cute leaf pick.

Here are the supplies that I used to create and pack these lunches.

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3 Lunches in Planetbox Rover

How's your week going? Nikolai is having his state assessment tests this week and while he is self motivated, self directed and very responsible with his studies, I suppose it's always the case that parents worry in the back of their minds that there should be something more that they could do.

I found these lunch photos in my archives and I'll combine them here into one post since I am unable to come up with titles. These are examples of lunches that I quickly put together and thought of not posting since they are so simple. On the other hand, I thought it's nice to share what simple lunches that Nikolai enjoyed at times when we were in a rush and had almost no time to pack lunches perhaps because we woke up late. That's life, right?

I have a few lunchboxes which I go to whenever I am in a hurry and one of them is our Planetbox! The main reason is: I LOVE the divided compartments! I'm able to add a little bit of this and a little bit of that knowing that Nikolai will have enough to eat at lunch time.

In this bento lunch (packed in a Planetbox Rover):

• Main compartment - Tortilla pinwheels and hummus in the small dipper.
• Upper left - Pear pieces.
• Lower left - Clif Bar.
• Center - Babybel cheese.
• Upper right - Organic baby carrots and celery sticks.

In this bento lunch (packed in a Planetbox Rover):

• Main compartment - A polar bear cupcake ring on a sandwich for added cuteness.
• Upper left - Cheddar crackers.
• Lower left - Organic baby carrots.
• Center - A bear cut out on a Babybel cheese.
• Upper right - Seedless organic grapes.

In this breakfast for lunch (packed in a Planetbox Rover):

• Main compartment - Mini pancakes with a baran sheet.
• Upper left - Sausages.
• Lower left - Seedless organic grapes, organic pure maple syrup in the small dipper.
• Center - Babybel cheese.
• Upper right -Annie's homegrown organic crackers.

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6 Fun Lunchbox Ideas For Your Yumbox

I had made these lunches some months ago, and I thought it would be nice to combine them all in one post. As you may already know, Yumbox is leak-proof and it's great for sending apple sauce, yogurt, rice pudding, etc with Nikolai. For some reason, he loves applesauce and makes a request for it almost daily!

Bento lunch 1: Bears bento lunch. I used both whole wheat and pumpernickel bread for the bears faces, with raisin eyes and  provolone and cheddar cheese for ears and nose. Alongside are organic baby carrots, seedless green grapes with a bear pick and slices of mozzarella cheese.

Bento lunch 2: Tortilla roll-ups for lunch. His sides were Clif bar cut into half, organic baby carrots, dye free choc covered sunflower seeds, slices of orange and organic apple . I love our square silicone cups, they work great as separators!

Bento lunch 3: Bagel face lunch. I added a couple of eye picks for fun on the bagel. Alongside he had a babybel cheese, dye free choc covered sunflower seeds, cheese crackers and organic apple pieces. Love the leak proof Yumbox.

Bento lunch 4: French toast with Greek yogurt breakfast for lunch. My hubby made breakfast and I conveniently added a couple of French toast in Nikolai's Yumbox, topped with a ladybug baran. Alongside are pure maple syrup, seedless green grapes with a ladybug pick and Greek yogurt.

Bento lunch 5: Simple sandwich cut into half with a cute Panda pick. I always love it when a cute pick can instantly make a simple lunch special! His sides were Cascadian Farm organic granola bar, slices of mozzarella cheese, organic apple sauce, baby carrots and seedless red grapes. Packed in our Yumbox.

Bento lunch 6: Tortilla wraps with a couple of music note picks, a Clif bar, organic apple sauce, slices of mozzarella cheese and organic blueberries.

All of these lunches are packed in our Yumbox.

Here is a recap of all of this collection of lunches.

Here are the supplies that I used to create and pack these lunches.

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