DIY Homemade Lunchables : Quick & Easy Tips

While store-bought Lunchables offer taste and convenience on the go, the experience becomes even better when you craft your own. In just a few minutes, personalize your lunchbox with your favorite foods or cater to specific dietary preferences. With complete control, your DIY Lunchables can be the freshest, most delicious, and even more cost-effective than store-bought options. Take an extra minute to cut them into fun shapes, add a touch of decoration, and arrange them neatly in your lunchbox for a meal that's both tasty and visually appealing.

Why DIY Homemade Lunchables?

• Customization: One of the main advantages of making your own lunchables is the freedom to choose what goes into them. Tailor your meal to fit your dietary preferences, ensuring a healthier and more enjoyable experience.
• Cost-Effective: Creating your lunchables can be more budget-friendly than purchasing pre-packaged options. Buying ingredients in bulk allows you to save money while also reducing single-use packaging waste.
• Freshness: Enjoy the satisfaction of using fresh and quality ingredients. This not only enhances the taste but also ensures that you are consuming wholesome, nutritious foods.

Ingredients:

Protein: Start with a base of your favorite protein – think deli meats, chicken nuggets, or even tofu for a vegetarian option.

Cheese: Choose a variety of cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, or Swiss. Cube, slice them or cut into cute shapes for easy snacking. 

Crackers or Bread: Include a selection of crackers, breadsticks, or even mini pitas.

Fresh Vegetables: Add color and crunch with fresh vegetables like cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, or baby carrots.

Dips and Spreads: Elevate your lunchable by including hummus, guacamole, or your favorite dip. Small containers or compartments work well for keeping them separate.

Fruits: Incorporate sweetness with fruit slices or berries. Grapes, apple slices, or melon cubes are some choices.

Assembly Tips:

Bento Boxes: Invest in a bento box or compartmentalized container to keep each component separate and visually appealing. Some of our favorite lunchboxes are: Easylunchboxes, Planetbox, Bentgo Kids and more.

Portion Control: Be mindful of portion sizes to create a balanced and satisfying meal.

Variety is Key: Rotate your choices to prevent lunchtime boredom. Experiment with different combinations to discover your favorite mix.

Temperature Considerations: If you're packing lunchables for school lunch or work, consider using an insulated lunch bag or adding an ice pack to keep items fresh.

We have packed many DIY Lunchables over the years, and the joy of crafting our personalized meals never gets old. If you're ready to take control of your lunchbox experience, check out more ideas and tips HERE. 

Here's to delicious, customizable lunches that fit your taste, budget, and style! 

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How to Create Halloween Themed Lunches with Cookie Cutters - Spooktacular Creations

Halloween is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than by adding some spooky flair to your kids lunchbox? In this post I will share several Halloween themed lunches that I've created with cookie cutters. Here is a link to many more Halloween themed lunches.

Here are some supplies that you may need:

• Cookie cutters in various Halloween shapes (bats, ghosts, pumpkins, cats, and witches, to name a few).
• Fresh ingredients for your desired lunch, such as sandwiches, fruits, vegetables, and cheeses.
• Condiments and spreads (cream cheese, ketchup, honey, etc.). We usually use honey as our food 'glue'.
• Cute food picks or food-safe markers.
• A dash of creativity and a spooky spirit!

Below is how I created these four lunches.

In this lunch: Main compartment contains a Jack-O-Lantern sandwich and a baby seedless cucumber. For the Jack-O-Lantern I used a two sided cutter to cut the shape of the components and then used the other side for the cut-outs only on the top slice. A bit of crust serves as a stem. I used our lettering cookie cutters to leave a faint (spooky?) BOO impression on the cucumber. In the upper right section there is a mandarin orange with a small celery stick as a pumpkin and stem and below them are some strawberries. In the center I included some fruit snacks. Packed in our leak-proof Yumbox.

In this lunch: For these I used my larger bat shape cutter and added eyes and mouth cut from fruit leather ( a dab of honey to glue the features). Above these bat sandwiches there are organic carrots and celery sticks with a BOO pick, and to the left of those are some bat shaped pieces of mild cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I used the same small cutter for both the cheese and the cut-out of the apple half. In the center are Annie's organic fruit snacks. Perhaps dark pumpernickel bread might have been more typically bat like, but what I used here seems to make the little red eyes a bit more startling. This lunch was packed in a Planetbox Rover.

In this lunch: For this lunch I have a sandwich topped with a mozzarella cheese ghost which I shaped with a cutter and decorated with bits of raisin ( tiny dab of honey used as glue for the features), and using another small cutter, I included a tiny headstone shaped piece of crust and also a "BOO" pick. On the right side I have included some strawberries, cucumber slices, and some chunks of cheese. Packed in our leak-proof Yumbox.

In this lunch: Above a bagel with cream cheese filling I put a flying witch on a broom. The witch was shaped with a cutter, the hat was made from nori, and the broom from a bread crust. For the sides I included some apple slices, some green grapes and some M&Ms. Packed in our leak-proof Yumbox.

These lunches were all very easy and quick to make, but most of all they were really FUN to make!

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How To Cut String Cheese Ghosts For Halloween

We are back and it's almost October which is my favorite month of the year. This will be a short post, but I'll have another longer post coming up soon. We are doing well and I hope the same for you :-) It's "College Time" for Nikolai and many others. We are naturally very proud of our son's achievements as he goes off for his junior year.

I've created several ghost themed lunches over the years that are very easy and great fun. Cutting the string cheese to look like ghosts is my favorite part. I'll be sharing with you the method I used for the string cheese.

You can make some cute ghosts similar to the ones I made quite easily.

You will need:

• String cheese
• Paring knife
• Toothpick, food safe marker or sunflower seeds

Method:

1. Cut the string cheese into half.
2. Using a knife, make a slit in the middle and almost 3/4 way down.
3. Make a few more additional slits till you get 8 legs or less.
4. I used a toothpick for these particular face accents. Just poke the toothpick on the cheese to create the eyes and mouth. I've used food safe marker before and I've seen sunflower seeds being used. These are just some ideas, you might have others.

Below are just a few Halloween lunchbox ideas with these string cheese ghosts.

In this bento lunch (packed in a Planetbox): I used a ghost shaped cookie cutter for the sandwich and raisins for the facial details. Honey was used as glue for the raisins. Sides were dye free choc sunflower seeds, Annie's organic crackers topped with a couple of ghost string cheese, seedless green grapes with a ghost cupcake pick, organic baby carrots, organic granola bar and seedless red grapes.

In this bento lunch:

• Grapes and strawberry slices watched over by a ghost pick.
• Sweet bell peppers carved into jack-o-lanterns above bed of lettuce.
• Ghost shaped sandwich topped with provolone cheese, eyes and nose are made from nori with fruit leather letters. Smaller ghosts are from mozzarella string cheese cut into half with sharp paring knife and food safe marker for eyes and nose. Packed in an Easylunchboxes container.

BOO is the first word of the Halloween season and the theme of this lunch. The main compartment of this lunch contains three mini pumpkin shaped sandwiches which I used a small pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out. I used the letter cutters to cut mild cheddar cheese to put on top of these and a couple pieces of string cheese to make the ghosts by first cutting it into half and then making cuts lengthwise for perhaps a little more than half their length and then spreading them apart to give a bit of a spooky look. I simply used a toothpick to make some indentations for the eyes and mouth, but you could also use a food safe marker. I included a piece of granola bar upon which I added letter cookies from IKEA, and in the smaller sections below I have celery sticks and organic baby carrots on the right and a silicone pumpkin shaped cup holding some grapes and a ghost pick. This lunch was packed in an Easylunchboxes container.

Below is my first ever string cheese creation in 2011 (12 years ago)! Wow, how quickly time flies.

In this bento lunch:

• Ghost shaped sandwich with turkey ham and Colby cheese. Topped with Asiago cheese and candy eyes
• Ghost shaped string cheese
• Seedless black grapes
• Cheddar crackers behind ghost marshmallow
• Organic baby carrots

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

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5 Snacky Lunch Ideas For School

Snacky lunches are fun to make, easy to pack and easy to eat. Lately, besides leftovers, most of Nikolai's lunches are snacky lunches which I often times refer to as homemade lunchables. With the short school lunch time, and of course the need to talk at lunch, snacky lunches are convenient and most welcome. It contains foods that he loves to eat, and we have the foods on hand most of the time.

These lunches are also easy for us to assemble with variety of fruits, vegetables, crackers, cheese, meats, breads, etc.

Our snacky lunches mostly contains any of the following:

• Bread, crackers, croissant, bagel, tortilla wraps, muffins, pretzels.
• A variety of cheese either in slices, sticks, wheels and at times cut into fun shapes from block cheese.
• Sliced deli ham, turkey, roast beef, salami.
• Fruits such as apple slices, seedless grapes, berries, peaches, watermelon, orange slices, and at times apple sauce.
• Vegetables and dips (ranch or hummus).
• Extra treat - Granola bar, rice krispies, popcorn, chips.

Here are 5 snacky lunches which Nikolai enjoyed recently.

Lunch 1: Cheese and ham roll ups, peach slices, seedless grapes in our favorite square silicone cup and tortilla chips in his leak-proof Ecolunchbox bento splash box. 

Lunch 2: Croissants, lefse with cinnamon and butter ( hubby is part Norwegian so we enjoy lefse occasionally), grapes, crackers and elderberry vitamin gummy. Packed in our Planetbox rover.

Lunch 3: 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. Packed in our Planetbox rover.

Lunch 4: A couple of turkey and cheese wraps secured with cute food picks, a granola bar, apple slices with cinnamon and crackers. Packed in our Easylunchboxes urban.

Lunch 5: This was packed by dad a.k.a my awesome husband. Sandwich cut into half, crackers, orange slices, cheese slices and I believe he hand cut the N for Nikolai's initial. 

You can always assemble a snacky lunch with what you have on hand, and include foods that your kids love to eat. They are quick and easy to pack! For ideas on DIY homemade lunchables, you can find them here.

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10 Quick and Easy School Lunch Ideas In Planetbox

It's been a few weeks now since school started for us. I must admit that it was difficult to adjust to the new earlier wake up time, but we are getting used to it. We are super happy that Nikolai was selected to attend a collegiate high school, one of the best here in Florida, at which he will only study two years of high school and will then move to college course work for the next two. The effect is to complete both high school and the first two years of college at the same time which is like getting two years of free college. Another feature we all like is that it's a smaller school with excellent teachers, principal and staff. He wanted the challenge and we are confident that he will succeed. He loves it there! Happy child means happy parents. 😄

I've been packing lunches daily which is honestly a joy since I'd thought he might prefer school lunches in the future. They have been mostly lunches which were simple, quick and easy. Nikolai has always been a small eater, and he prefers a little bit of of this and a little bit of that in his lunchbox. 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 that I LOVE their divided compartments! Also, we have had our Planetbox since Nikolai was in Elementary school, and it's still in perfect condition. It's easy to pack, easy to wash, very durable and I'm confident it will last for many years to come!

I've combined several lunches I have packed for Nikolai in his Planetbox into this one post. They are quick and easy lunches which he had enjoyed a while back.

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

Bento lunch 1: Main compartment contains a sandwich with bear shaped cheese cut outs. I usually switch around the cheese and lunchmeat for his sandwich fillings. Sometimes it may also be PB&J, cream cheese or other spreads. Sides are apple slices, cucumber slices, baby carrots, Annie's organic fruit snacks and goldfish crackers.

Bento lunch 2: I believe this was packed by my hubby, he loves to cut the bread into this shape. Sides are applesauce, baby carrots, yogurt star and cheese crackers.

Bento lunch 3: Chococat topper on a simple sandwich, celery sticks (dip not pictured), apple slices, crackers and Annie's organic fruit snacks.

Bento lunch 4: It was half day at school and we packed a small lunch. Sandwich with a robot cupcake ring, grapes and crackers in our favorite square silicone cup. This lunch was packed in our smaller Planetbox Shuttle.

Bento lunch 5: Low on groceries lunch = pack what we can find in the fridge and pantry! Sandwich, crackers, string cheese, fruit snacks and rice krispies treat.

Bento lunch 6: Tortilla wraps and a cheese stick in the main compartment. Sides are grapes, peach slices, fruit snacks and goldfish crackers.

Bento lunch 7: Another low on groceries lunch! High five stamped on sandwich, applesauce, cheese stick, Annie's organic fruit snacks and cheese crackers.

Bento lunch 8: Superman themed lunch with superman cupcake ring, yogurt, grapes, Babybel cheese and baby carrots.

Bento lunch 9: Panda mini pocket sandwiches which I used our Cutezcute stamper/ cutter to create, grapes with cute Panda picks, choc chips, popcorn and yogurt.

Bento lunch 10: Again, either we are low on groceries or running late. Crackers, cheese slices, grapes and strawberry crepe.

As you can see, I do not always pack fancy lunches. Most days are leftovers or breakfast for lunch which I never bother taking pictures.

Below is a collage that I made for those who might like to pin. All packed in our durable Planetbox.

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10 Fall School Lunchbox Ideas

First Day of Fall is around the corner. It's one of my favorite seasons of the year where food is concerned, lol. I love all fall flavors from pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin pie to pumpkin soup! It's also time to create some fun fall themed lunches for Nikolai.

It was great fun looking through all of the lunches which I've posted over the years. Here are 10 Fall School Lunchbox Ideas.

These lunches are not in any particular order. I love them all because they were packed with love, and Nikolai enjoyed them!

Fall leaves themed lunch is easy to create, all you need are a few cookie cutters. This lunch is packed in our leak-proof Bentgo Lunchbox. 

Details of this lunch can be found HERE.

Mouth watering looking at this lunch now. Couscous and shu mai lunch of which you can find the details HERE.

Fall acorns and leaf bento lunch. Packed in our Easylunchboxes container. The details of this lunch can be found HERE.

Maple leaves themed lunch, the cutter/ stamp is so easy to use and I love how the sandwiches turned out. This lunch is packed in a stainless steel Planetbox.

 Find the details of this lunch HERE.

Here is a squirrel and acorns themed lunch. Nikolai told me that the tail looked like a skunk tail! LOL! It's sometimes fun listening to his feedback. This lunch is packed in our Laptop lunches, now Bentology lunchbox. Details for this lunch can be found HERE.

Here is a fall leaves and acorns themed lunch for which you can find the details HERE.

I love how the pumpkin sandwich turned out with the pumpernickel and rye bread. This lunch is packed in Easylunchboxes container.

 Details for this lunch can be found HERE.

What a friendly scarecrow! I think it's cute and not a bit scary! This lunch is packed in our Easyluncboxes.

Details can be found HERE.

Here is a simple FALL themed lunch for which you can find the details HERE. This lunch is packed in our Ecolunchboxes stainless steel lunchbox.

Squirrels, acorns and leaves, all in this cute fall themed lunch. Packed in bentology lunchbox.

The details can be found HERE.

Happy Autumn, y'all!

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10 First Day Back To School Lunches

It's the time of the year when we transition from sleeping late to adjusting back our alarm clocks to school days wake up time. It always feels that summer passes by quicker each year....I guess time flies when you are having so much fun.

Our school here in FL starts this coming Friday, and since it's TGIF, I'll be packing Nikolai a simple first day of school lunch, maybe recreate something from a previous year, I'm not sure for now. It's always nice to make a fun and special lunch for the first day of school, it's just one more way of letting Nikolai know that I'm thinking of him.

Here are 10 first day back to school lunchbox ideas. You can view the description of each HERE.

I hope y'all had a great summer, wish all of you a great start to another school year and your children great success with their studies!!

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

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150+ Lunches In Planetbox & Features That We Like

Planetbox may be Nikolai's favorite lunchbox! Frankly, I'm sure we have packed more lunches into them than this post title. I still have a backlog of lunches which I need to post.

We own all three of the Planetboxes ( Rover, Shuttle and Launch). The one we have used most is the Planetbox Rover, then the Shuttle and after that the Launch. If you need a larger capacity box, then I would suggest the Planetbox Launch. Nikolai is a small eater and prefers variety, thus, the Planetbox Rover with its many sections is perfect for us. Of course, if you have all three sizes you will find the perfect time or circumstance for each.

The Planetbox Rover has five compartments and two dippers. The PlanetBox Shuttle has two compartments and one dipper. Each come with a colorful magnet set, perfect for personalizing. The lid is the hinged type and is secured with a metal snap-type latch, so it all remains together.
If you’re looking for a box that will last for years to come and that is completely plastic free, high quality and durable, this is the one for you! While the price is a bit more than some alternatives, the value more than justifies it when its quality and all of its many features are considered.

Features that we like:

- Made of stainless steel and there’s no worry about BPA.
- Dishwasher safe, eco-friendly and should last indefinitely.
- Compartments which provide variety and versatility.
- Cute magnet designs to choose from.
- The dippers are great containers to hold sauces, dips, yogurt etc that fit perfectly inside the Planetbox.
- The insulated bag is both sleek and functional. On the outside there's a place for a water bottle and a pocket for a napkin or a small snack box. On the inside is a mesh pocket for a PlanetBox cold kit or similar ice pack, and a couple little straps that secure utensils or a cute note from home.

You can view my gallery of lunches packed in PlanetBox by clicking HERE.

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

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12 Of My Favorite Christmas Holiday Lunches

This is, for me, and my family, the most wonderful time of the year! Truly everyday is wonderful for us, but this time of year it is even more special.

I've packed over 50 Christmas themed lunches over they years and I must admit, I LOVE them ALL, even the simplest ones. You know why? It's because each and every one of them were packed with love, and Nikolai appreciated and enjoyed them.

I've decided to feature twelve of my most favorite ones, let me tell you, it's not easy to pick these above the others, but it was great fun looking through all of the lunches which I've posted over the years.

These lunches are not in any particular order. As I mentioned earlier, I love them all!

Joy to the world is one of my favorite Christmas songs. JOY on a bell themed lunch which you can find the details HERE.

I love the strawberry and marshmallow Santa in this lunch and of course the present sandwich. Details can be found HERE.

And the stocking are hung by the chimney with care...details HERE.

We never get snow here in Florida but it's always fun to make a Snowman lunch. Details can be found HERE.

It's always fun to decorate Gingerbread Houses, and here is one made of sandwich. Find the details HERE.

Nikolai loves Winnie The Pooh and we have several Pooh Christmas ornaments. Of course I had to make a Pooh Bear Holiday themed lunch, details HERE.

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is one of my favorite characters and I've made several Rudolph themed lunches over the years. You can find this one HERE.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree roll-ups. This is quite easy to make and you can find it HERE.

I challenged myself to make Santa's belt and I'm quite pleased with the outcome. Find the details HERE.

The Polar Express is one of our family traditions. We watch it almost every year and HERE is a themed lunch.

Nikolai was fascinated with Snowmen when he was little. HERE is one wearing ear muffs.

This is one of the easiest Christmas tree lunch I've made. I used a tree cookie cutter as separator for a lunchables style lunch. You can find the details HERE.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and an entire holiday season of good health and good fortune.

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