5 Pinwheels Lunch Ideas

I did mention recently how much I love my reusable snack bags. Snack Taxi was the first brand which I acquired and use. They generously sent me a set several months ago to try out, and we love them. The reusable bags are made of 100 percent cotton outer with nylon lining, hook and loop closure and made in the USA. You can find many more designs and prints at their site here.

Stasher is another brand of reusable snack bags which I've reviewed earlier and you can find it here. They recently sent me their snack size stasher which we absolutely love. It's smaller than the original stasher and is perfect for snacks.

Pinwheels are among the foods that Nikolai loves. Often I use bread which I slightly flatten with a rolling pin before adding the fillings. I also use tortilla if we have them on hand, which is slightly easier as the tortilla does not require rolling. I'm also sharing one of my failed pinwheels lunches, which you will find if you scroll down towards the end. That morning I was way in a hurry and didn't bother to roll the bread so that was how it turned our - failed! Fortunately, it was still a yummy lunch, Nikolai didn't mind, and came home with an empty lunchbox which made my day.

Bento lunch 1: Ham and cheese pinwheels, cucumber slices and seedless grapes in a round silicone cup with a cute pick. This lunch is packed in a Happy Tiffin lunchbox. On the side is our SnackTaxi reusable bag which contains Annie's organic crackers.

Bento lunch 2: Cream cheese and jam tortilla pinwheels with an organic granola bar in the main section. Sides were Babybel cheese, fruit snacks, seedless red grapes and cucumber slices with a cute pick. This lunch is packed in a Bentgo leak-proof lunchbox.

Bento lunch 3: Pinwheels with cute animal face picks, organic baby carrots, watermelon slices cut into cupcake shapes in my favorite square silicone cups. On the side is a string cheese cut into half. This lunch is packed in our leak-proof stainless steel splash Ecolunchbox. As for snack, he had Annie's organic crackers in our new stasher reusable snack bag. We love this bag!

Bento lunch 4: Ham and cheese tortilla pinwheels. Sides were organic baby carrots, grapes in square silicone cups, cereal bar cut into half and cheddar snacks. This lunch is packed in a Planetbox shuttle.

Bento lunch 5: This is the lunch which I mentioned above. SunButter and jam pinwheels which failed. Annie's organic snack and Babybel cheese with an eye food pick in square silicone cups. Sides were cucumber sticks, baby carrots, pineapple and watermelon chunks. This lunch is packed in an Easylunchboxes.

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Star Themed Lunches

I try to make at least one star themed lunch for Nikolai towards the end of every school year. It's my way of reminding him that he's our star and we are very proud of his achievements and hard work throughout the entire school year. This year it's slightly different, I made a few star themed lunches, probably because this will be his last year in elementary school. I've combined them in one post as the last week of school will be quite hectic for us with concerts, award ceremony and all.

I'll still be packing lunches till the last day of school for sure, just the last few days will be bento snacks since they only have to attend half days.

In this bento lunch: Main compartment contains a sandwich topped with a couple of smiley stars cut out of Gouda cheese with my small star cutter, STAR lettering and an organic granola bar. Alongside are organic baby carrots, broccoli florets, strawberries, grapes and a sting cheese. This lunch was packed in a Bentology Living Box.

In this bento lunch: Main compartment contains a couple of star shaped sandwiches topped with stars of cheddar and Gouda cheese, a Babybel cheese which I used my small star shape cutter for the cut-out, Trader Joe's yogurt stars and an organic granola bar. Sides are strawberries, organic baby carrots and broccoli florets. This lunch was packed in our Easylunchboxes urban.

Nikolai is quite particular with the number of cheese, crackers and meat whenever I sent lunchables. If it's 8 crackers, he prefers everything else to be 8 so he can stack them. Many times I've sent lunchables without counting and he suggested that I should, LOL. The bento below has 8 of each but one cracker is hidden behind, so you'll only see 7.

In this lunchables: Main compartment contains whole wheat crackers, star shaped cheddar cheese and nitrate free ham roll-ups. Sides are baby carrots, seedless grapes with a star pick, mini chocolate chips, a yogurt star and cheddar popcorn. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox rover.

In this bento lunch: Cheddar cheese star topped on a yummy sandwich. Alongside are kiwi slices and strawberries with a star pick. He also had a snack box and his daily water bottle which is not pictured. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox shuttle.

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

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Panda and Roll-Ups Lunches

The last day of school for us is on June 10th....I have mixed feelings, on one hand I can't wait for the last day of school and for our summer holidays to begin, on the other hand, I dread it 'cause it will be his last year in elementary school. The other day I asked Nikolai, "can I shrink you to be a small boy again since you are growing up way too fast", he looked at me as if I had lost my mind and just said "No"! LOL!

I came across some organic cheddar popcorn the other day and they are delicious. Our family are not fans of popcorn, but these are irresistible and I included some in these bento lunches for Nikolai.

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

• Main compartment - Panda shaped provolone cheese above a sandwich thin. I used our CuteZCute cutter to create the Panda.
• Upper left - Organic baby carrots and celery sticks.
• Lower left - Strawberries and panda pick.
• Center - Dye free choc covered sunflower seeds.
• Upper right - Organic popcorn.

This second one has popcorn with some roll-ups and a yogurt covered star.

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

• Main compartment - Organic popcorn with Disney Cars McQueen cupcake ring.
• Upper left - Organic baby carrots.
• Lower left - Strawberries.
• Center - Yogurt covered star.
• Upper right - Bread roll-ups.

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

 

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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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Pinwheels and Bagel Lunches

We are back from our spring break. Besides all of the fun, we did some spring cleaning and this time I donated more than half of my clothing from my closet which is quite drastic I guess, lol. I decided to change my style and get all new clothing and shoes.
Do you like Hello Kitty? It has been one of my favorite characters since childhood and I'm still collecting any cute Hello Kitty items. I've made Hello Kitty lunches for Nikolai previously and wanted to create a bagel to look like Hello Kitty but Nikolai told me "Mom, just to make a cat will do fine."

I totally understand that he's older now and his preferences have changed. I am also afraid that the days of me making cute lunches are numbered, hopefully not too soon though!

Bento lunch 1: Cat themed bagel. As always, honey works best for me as food glue. A dab on the cheeks and it glued the nori whiskers into place. Raisin eyes and cheddar cheese ears completed the face. His sides were celery sticks which he is not keen on, He came home with only a bite on one stick! Ranch for dip in the small container, Annie's organic crackers, blueberries, grapes and a cheese stick.

Bento lunch 2: Pinwheels, or what some call roll-ups, for lunch. His sides were Cascadian farm organic granola bar cut into half, seedless grapes, strawberries, and Chobani Greek yogurt with a spoon wrapped in napkin. I love our bentology living box which has inner leak-proof containers with lids.

Bento lunch 3: Easy dinosaur bagel lunch. A couple of dino picks, dino fruit snack and dino napkin gave this lunch a title. He also had organic apple sauce with extra cinnamon (his favorite) and organic baby carrots.

These lunches were packed in our bentology bento box.

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

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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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Valentine's Day Heart Tortilla Roll-Ups

How was your weekend? We watched Super Bowl 50 on Sunday evening and enjoyed the company and food. I am sure the others enjoyed the game more than I, as I am not really a football fan and don't quite understand the game. Thankfully, Nikolai plays little football so he and my hubby tried to explain the rules and play to me. It was fun listening to them even if I might not remember it next year, LOL!  I am truly more of a soccer fan and I call it football, same as many people in other countries. I've been trying to get Nikolai to play soccer and hopefully that also will interest him someday soon. After my hubby learned that cricket games can sometimes last for days, he thinks that might be the game for him!

We always have extra tortillas on hand and we are often unable to finish them before the expire date. You know how it goes, when there is none in the pantry, everyone seems to want them, and when you have a huge bag, no one seems to want them! Does that sound familiar to you?
I decided to make some roll-ups for Nikolai and thought that this looked like a heart shape, at least enough like one when I included the center.  He doesn't seem to have so much of an appetite lately and I just rolled them with organic cream cheese, simple.

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

• Main compartment -Tortilla roll-ups and a heart shaped marshmallow.
• Upper left - Organic baby carrots.
• Lower left - Organic apple slices.
• Center -Babybel cheese with mini heart cut outs.
• Upper right -Seedless green grapes with a cupcake ring.

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

 

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Piggy Roll-Ups Sandwiches

Character roll-ups sandwiches are fun to create and it's not as difficult as you might think. You'll get into it after creating the first one, in my case it was bear rolls-ups, then bunnies and so on. First, I flattened the bread slightly with a rolling pin (you can skip this step if you prefer), add the sandwich fillings and roll. Place the sandwiches in a lunch box and get ready for the facial accents which is the fun part!

I created the pig's snouts and ears for these sandwiches using my CuteZCute animal friends cutter. The tails were made with the letter S from my alphabet cookie cutter set and the eyes were nori cut with my hole paper puncher.

In this bento lunch (packed in a bentology box):

• Bottom left: Piggy roll-ups sandwiches.
• Bottom right: Alphabet wheat cookies from Ikea.
• Top left: Organic baby carrots and dip in the blue Lego container.
• Top right: Orange and apple slices with a pick.

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

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6 Fun and Easy Lunchbox Ideas

Happy New Year 2016! I wish you all a New Year filled with Happiness, Health and Prosperity!
We have had a fantastic Christmas and enjoyed our long holidays very much. They have been great fun with lots of food, the company of our wonderful family and visiting with great friends. Now, however, it's back to basics time and I'll start by posting some fun and easy lunches which Nikolai enjoyed months ago. All of these lunches were packed in our Easylunchboxes. For this week, I'll begin by packing something similar to these, which are simple, quick and easy.

Here are 6 Fun and Easy Lunchbox Ideas.

Bento lunch 1: DIY Lunchables. Main compartment of ham roll-ups in a square silicone cup, crackers, seedless green grapes, string cheese slices and organic granola bar. Top left are some organic baby carrots and top right are slices of organic apple.

Bento lunch 2: This was a cute lunch which I packed for Nikolai's field trip. I used my new bear cutter/stamper for the sandwiches. He also had an organic granola bar along with baby carrots, some dip in the small container and seedless red and green grapes with a cute bear pick.

Bento lunch 3: Leftover ham and Annie's organic mac & cheese. He had this lunch warm and I packed it in my Warm&Tote lunch-bag which kept this lunch warm till his lunch time. His sides were some fruits and veggies (not pictured)  as I packed them in a snack box with an ice pack.

Bento lunch 4: Freezer pizza bites which I baked in the morning while we were having breakfast. His sides were organic granola bar, a Babybel cheese, organic baby carrots, seedless red and green grapes.

Bento lunch 5: Stamped sandwich. This was an easy one, I stamped the top of the bread with my Mickey stamper, ranch in the Mickey container, organic apple slices and cucumber slices and their Mickey picks completed this lunch.

Bento lunch 6: Annie's organic mac & cheese in a silicone cup are along with whole grain all natural chicken nuggets in the main section with some music note picks. Baby carrots and grapes are in the smaller sections.

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

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O Christmas Tree Bento

I just noticed that the last day of school for this year is on Dec 18th. I guess I am more excited than Nikolai is, lol. We finally mailed out most of our International packages and the post office is super busy this time of year. My poor hubby had to stand in line for around 30 minutes while I sat in the car and waited for him. I am sure we'll be going there again at least a couple of times before Christmas.

This is a quick and easy Christmas tree bento which I got the inspiration from a roll-ups appetizer platter. I was looking online for appetizer ideas for Christmas eve and thought I'll shrink the platter idea and made it into a small tree which fits into a bento box. :)

In this bento lunch: Whole wheat bread roll-ups arranged to look like a tree with a bread crust tree trunk and a yogurt covered star. Alongside are organic apple slices, Greek yogurt covered fruit snacks, holiday edition goldfish crackers and cucumber slices. This lunch was packed in a Bentgo lunchbox.

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Monkey Roll-Ups Sandwiches

We are getting so close to Thanksgiving! Will you be hosting the feast or will you be attending? This year we will be hosting and my amazing husband is going to do the cooking. You see, he is our cook during the holidays as well as the weekends when we decide to eat in.:)

I didn't make any Thanksgiving themed lunches this year since school will be out from this coming Wednesday which is also Nikolai's birthday. You can find my previous Thanksgiving themed lunches here. These roll-ups sandwiches are so easy and fun to make. I've also created other characters before such as bear, bunny and dog with the same roll-ups method. I used a small heart shaped cookie cutter for the monkeys face, small circle cookie cutter for the ears (cut into half), and a paper puncher for the eyes and mouth. I find that my paper puncher works better on nori sheets and a little quicker, lol. I found some banana shaped picks which I collected years ago. His sides were some grapes in a silicone cup and a Clif Kid organic bar.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This lunch is linked to:

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

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