Vegetarian Lunchbox Inspiration: Week 6

 

A weekly re-cap that is on time for once, it IS possible!  This weeks lunches were all very successful and came back nearly empty!

Monday:

PB&honey "sushi" rolls, PB pretzel sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, egg, carrot, and cashews.

Tuesday:

I felt kinda bad that I hadn't done a "fun" lunch in a while so I took a few extra minutes on Monday night to throw this PB & Fruit Owl together. I tried to keep the blueberries on the bananas with a drop of honey but they slid off anyway.  That was the only thing that moved though and she still knew it was an owl and loved it! Strawberries, blueberries, carrots, cucumbers, and a hard-boiled egg complete the lunch.

 Wednesday:

It was field trip day to the farm and the teacher sent a note home specifically requesting a brown bag lunch with all disposable items.  That was tough! I usually pack her Yumbox in an insulated tote with an ice pack so I kept todays lunch old school. There is a Sunbutter & honey sandwich, grapes, applesauce, and a juice box (which is a rare treat for her). I also packed an antibacterial wipe just to make sure she had clean hands after touching all those farm animals!

 Thursday:

I have been wanting to try a pizza of some sort in her lunchbox for a while but wasn't sure she would like cold pizza.  SPOILER ALERT: she LOVES it! One of the people I follow on Instagram, thecherryblossomsbox,  had done a super cute mummy pizza and I decided to try it out. I toasted a multi-grain English muffin, added pizza sauce and strips of mozzarella cheese to look like bandages and added black olive slices for eyes and baked it in the toaster oven at 450 for a couple of minutes. I probably left it in a bit too long because my cheese bandages all melted together but the important thing was that she loved it and asked for another pizza the next day! There is also an egg with bat sprinkle eyes to turn it into a ghost, raspberries, blueberries, diced bell pepper, and cucumbers.

 Friday:

As requested by my 5yo, another English muffin pizza.  This one with bell peppers and black olives. There is also an egg, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cashews, pistachios, and delicious leftover roasted broccoli (recipe I used here). I usually steam broccoli at least once a week for a side dish and everyone loves it but after eating it this way, I may never go back to steaming it again, it was YUMMY!

 

What is your child's favorite thing to eat in their lunchbox?

 

Happy lunch packing,

Crystal

Vegetarian Lunchbox Inspiration: Week 5

A whole week late with my weekly re-cap this time!  LOL, at least I get the lunches made on time and with any luck and cooperation (i.e. naps) from my boys I will even get this weeks post up shortly afterwards!

Monday:

Pesto pasta sprinkled with parmesan (which is one of the few pastas she likes cold), hard-boiled egg, black olives, Pepperidge Farm butterfly pretzels, kiwi (cut with a butterfly cookie cutter), pear, pistachios, cucumbers (maple leaf cookie cutter), and carrots (tulip cookie cutter).

 Tuesday:

Banana Zucchini Muffin (recipe here), egg, olives, string cheese, cashews, grapes, raspberries, carrots (cut with a flower cookie cutter), cucumbers (maple leaf cookie cutter).

 Wednesday:

I have never sliced an apple like this before but I really wanted to try an apple sandwich and she loved it! Apple sliced and core cut out with flower cookie cutter, filled with PB and surrounded with raisins and pistachios. There is also pesto pasta salad with parmesan and black olives, carrots, cucumbers, and Trader Joe's Cheddar Rocket Crackers.

 Thursday:

A PB&honey sandwich cut with an elephant cookie cutter (made by Munchkin) on a bed of romaine (and no, she didn't eat the lettuce although she does like salads), apple chunks (they stay fresh in the Yumbox but you could also dip them in OJ or lemon juice which I sometimes do), egg, carrot hearts.

Friday:

Bagel Thin with cream cheese and strawberries, cashews, grapes, egg, carrots, and cucumbers.

 

That's all for todays re-cap folks, have a great weekend!

Crystal

Vegetarian lunchbox inspiration: Week 4

We're almost halfway through week 5, so week 4's post is officially a wee bit late. Sorry.  I am trying to keep up with this once a week re-cap but life gets busy and I don't get an opportunity to go on the computer very often.

I am loving packing my 5 year olds lunch every day for school and most days it comes home empty! The days when there is some left it's still cold from the ice pack and she'll eat the few things left when she gets home from school for a snack. 

We are learning what she likes and dislikes to eat cold. Thankfully she is NOT a picky eater {aside from disliking beans of all kinds}, but she has foods that she associates with being hot and she just doesn't like them cold.

Here are her vegetarian lunchboxes from last week.  **They are all very low on added sugars as we are doing a sugar smart challenge in our house currently.** 

Monday:

1/2 a whole grain English muffin with PB and raspberries, cottage cheese, black olives, bell peppers, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, and a banana.

 

 Tuesday:

Whole wheat pasta tossed with pesto and black olives, cheese, apples, pretzels, pistachios, bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers.

 Wednesday:

PB & honey sandwich cut into a pumpkin shape with a cookie cutter, cashews, hard-boiled egg (cut in half with the yolk scooped out because she doesn't like that part), strawberries, carrots, cucumber, and sliced Colby jack cheese.

 Thursday:

1/2 a whole grain English muffin with cream cheese and pear, hard boiled egg, grapes, cashews, carrot, cucumber.

 Friday Funday:

My daughter wants to be a panda for Halloween this year.  She just loves them so I created a special lunch for her with a panda theme! There is a PB&honey sandwich cut with CuteZCute cutters, pretzels, strawberries, basil leaves, Havarti dill cheese, grapes, cashews, and carrot/cucumber cookie cutter heart cross-overs.

That's all for tonight as I still have to pack tomorrows lunch! 

Thanks for visiting,

Crystal

Vegetarian Lunchbox Inspiration Week 3

Another week of lunches done and my daughter is starting to have favorites and special requests.  My 3 year old son also has a few lunches in the post this week because he got jealous of his big sis's special lunches and wanted me to put his lunch in his lunchbox to eat at home.  Easy enough request!

Mondays Lunch:

A simple snack style lunch where my daughter could build her own sandwiches with the fixings.  There are Triscuit crackers, sliced Colby Jack cheese, Havarti dill cheese, apples, raspberries, cucumber, carrots, black olives, hard boiled egg, and some pistachios and dried fruit.

 Tuesdays Lunch:

The first day of fall required a special sandwich.  It is PB, honey, and banana slices on Challah bread, cut with a leaf cookie cutter and I added some orange sprinkles.  There is also a strawberry Chobani Greek yogurt, raspberries, carrot, bell pepper, and cucumbers.

 Wednesdays Lunch:

There are cream cheese veggie rolls made with carrot, bell pepper, and spinach on a whole grain Flatout wrap.  There is also a hard boiled egg, black olives, whole wheat Ritz crackers, baked sweet potato slices, pistachios, raspberries, and kiwi butterflies.

 Wednesdays Lunch #2:

My children all have different tastes and enjoy different foods.  For the most part I try to get them to eat the same thing but neither of my boys like hard boiled egg while my 5 year old daughter LOVES them (minus the yolk).  My boys lunch was similar to his sisters today except for a few additions and minus the egg.  He has cream cheese veggie roll-ups, pistachios, string cheese, Triscuit crackers, black olives, sweet potato slices, raspberries, and kiwi butterflies.

 Thursdays Lunch:

I made a fun open-faced sandwich for todays lunch.  A slice of whole wheat bread topped with cream cheese and sliced nectarines.  There is also a hard boiled egg, grapes, kiwi slices and leftover Squash, Wild Rice and Barley Casserole.  The recipe can be found in The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson.  It is YUMMY!  I usually double up the batch because everyone in my family loves it!

 Fridays Lunch:

Banana "sushi" made with whole wheat bread, homemade cinnamon almond butter and banana. There is also string cheese, pretzels, nectarine, kiwi, bell peppers, cucumber, and pistachios. 

NOTE:

 My husband makes all our nut butters and it is super easy, just very taxing on your food processor.  You can chop the nuts up and add them to the food processor and just go until they turn to butter. You may need to give it a rest a few times so the motor doesn't overheat. He will add some cinnamon and sometimes maple syrup to flavor them.

 Fridays Lunch #2:

My growing boy requested a big lunch out of his lunchbox today (and eats every last bite from it too).  His lunch has Macaroni and Cheese Muffins with Broccoli and Peas (I kinda smashed it up to fit in the box), black olives, nectarine, grapes, sweet potato, bell pepper, and pistachios.

I am linking this up to Fun Food Friday at the Eats Amazing blog.
                                                                          
We are almost through the first month of school here and my daughters favorite part of the day is still lunch!  She really enjoys eating with her friends at school and has learned that lunchtime is only so long and that she has to talk a little less if she doesn't want to be hungry at the end of the school day.

I hope you can find some inspiration from these lunches!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Crystal

**There are affiliate links in the right hand column of this post for products I've used and recommend.  If you cannot see these on your mobile, hit view web version at the bottom if you are interested.**

Vegetarian Lunchbox Inspiration Week 2

I'm back with another week of inspiration for packing healthy and fun lunches for your little ones!  Last week my backordered Yumbox Panino came and even though it was a Saturday my little guy was so excited about having his own lunchbox like his sisters that I packed their lunches in it and served it to them at home.  They got a real kick out of that!

Saturdays lunch:

Macaroni and Cheese Muffins with broccoli and peas added.  Recipe here.  These are great to freeze and add to lunchboxes in the morning (or night before when I pack mine).  Bell pepper, hummus, strawberries, grapes, and Challah bread finish off the lunch.

Mondays lunch: 

Veggie and cream cheese wraps.  I chopped up some bell pepper, carrot and broccoli very small and added it to a whole grain tortilla spread with cream cheese.  These are some of my daughters favorite veggies but you could use any veggies that your kids like.  Pumpkin Granola Bars, recipe here.  These were super yummy and everyone devoured them quickly! Grapes, raspberries, pistachios, and chocolate covered pretzels.

Tuesdays lunch:

I added leftovers from the previous nights dinner (my daughters favorite meal).  It is a lentil burger (a "recipe" passed down from my mom that also used to be my favorite meal as a kid).  There really isn't a recipe for this.  I dice some carrots, celery, and onion.  Usually about a cup of diced carrots, a cup of diced celery and 1/3 cup diced onion.  Add to a pot with about 1 and 1/3 cup brown lentils.  Cover with water to the top of the mixture and let come to a boil and turn to low to simmer for 35-40 minutes until water is absorbed.  Add a little ketchup approximately 1/4 cup. Add a little whole wheat flour at a time until you get a good consistency to form patties.  Maybe about 3/4 cup.  Form into patties and cook in olive oil over a high heat, flipping when crispy.  Sometimes I add cheese to the top at the end to melt. 

I also had some leftover baked sweet potatoes that I added. A slice of cheese cut into a panda with CuteZCute Animal Friends topped the lentil burger with ketchup for dipping.  There are grapes as well.

Wednesdays Lunch had a rainbow theme:

There was a PB&J sandwich cut into a koala with CuteZCute cutters, pretzel sticks underneath, a rainbow fruit kebob, carrots, cucumber, purple bell pepper, black olives, and cream cheese with rainbow sprinkles.

Thursdays Lunch was apple "nachos" (homemade maple cinnamon almond butter topped with raisins, dried cherries, and pistachios with plenty of apple slices for dipping.) I prepare my lunches the night before so to prevent browning I dip the cut apples in O.J. and they stay nice looking for the next days lunch! There is also a Chobani Greek yogurt with pretzels hidden underneath and some kiwi with a little bit of rice krispie treat in the center well.  Banana was for snack.

Fridays Lunch:
Talk like a Pirate Day and Friday Funday combined for this lunch! There was a PB&Marshmallow fluff sandwich cut into a pirate panda.  Cheese on top and some purple bell pepper for the eyepatch kept in place with a dab of cream cheese.  Hard-boiled egg, nectarine, raspberries, blueberries, and cucumber finish this lunch off.  She loved this one!

 

I hope you get some ideas out of this post!  Remember that you can follow me on Instagram where I post the pics daily as well as on Facebook. 

 

There are links to products used in the right column and if you have any questions feel free to ask here or on FB.  Have a wonderful week!

 

Crystal

Vegetarian Lunchbox inspiration: Week 1

Hello and welcome to Packed With Love and Veggies!  I recently started to make packed lunches for my Kindergartener and post the pictures on Instagram (follow here).  I have a passion for eating and feeding my family healthy and {mostly} clean vegetarian meals as well as creating papercrafts and now fun lunches for my kids.  I love finding inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram and decided at the beginning of the week to add my lunchbox creations to the wonderful variety to be found online.  I will try to post a weekly re-cap of lunches here on the blog with links to recipes I made. I also create a little lunchbox note each day often with my rubber stamps, Cricut, or just a drawing. Here goes my first week!

**This is actually the 2nd week of Kindergarten for my girl but since I didn't start taking pictures until Tuesday of this week I'll just call it week 1.**

Tuesday:

Lunch includes a Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffin (recipe found on Simple As That blog here).  I made a batch and froze them for lunches. Honeydew, raspberries, mini bell peppers and cucumbers cut into heart shapes, a hard-boiled egg, Havarti dill cheese and pistachios (which I forgot to add before I took the picture) finish off lunch.

 The lunchbox is a Yumbox (which is awesome and will hopefully be available on Amazon again next week).  Seriously, this lunchbox is fantastic.  SO easy to clean, my 5 year old can open it without help and it's pretty cute and comes in lots of fun colors.

 Wednesday:

Wednesday's lunch was packed with all my daughters favorites.  PB&honey "sushi" roll, hard-boiled egg, black olives, cheese, crackers, mini bell peppers, grapes, raspberries, and pistachios.

 I used a silicone muffin liner to separate the egg and black olives, two very bold and distinctive flavors you may or may not want to mingle.

  Thursday:

Thursdays lunch included a Banana Zucchini muffin (recipe found on Made From Pinterest site).  These are DELICIOUS!!!  They made a big batch (18) and I froze half and the other half were eaten within 24 hours.  There is also a Chobani kids greek yogurt, hard-boiled egg, black olives, grapes, strawberries, bell peppers, cucumbers and some strawberry cream cheese for dipping.

 P.S. My daughter would not eat cucumbers until I got the idea to cut them into fun shapes with little cookie cutters and now they are her favorite vegetable!

 Friday:

I will try to make Fridays lunches a little more fun and special.  I call them Friday Fundays and put a little extra time into them! My daughter has been requesting a cat lunch note so I went a step further and created a cat theme for her lunch today. I made the lunch note with my Cricut-Create a Critter cartridge.  The sandwich is a PB & Marshmallow fluff sandwich (her 1st ever) cut with a CuteZCute Animal Friends cutter. She is learning sight words and already has a long list that she knows.  Her K teacher gave me a list of words that they will work on each week and I am trying to incorporate them in a fun way so I cut some cheese (my husband will laugh when he reads that) with the CuteZCute alphabet cutters.

Lunch also includes some shredded carrot, diced celery, hard-boiled egg, strawberries, nectarine, pistachios, raisins, and a few dark chocolate covered berries. The lunchbox container is a Rubbermaid Lunchblox container that comes with a fitted ice block that I have been using for all my lunches.

I hope you can find some inspiration and ideas here because I had a lot of fun making all of these!  Please visit again next week (hopefully Friday) when I will have another weeks re-cap.  You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.  I am completely new to this and would LOVE some followers on my blog here and on IG and FB!

I am sharing this post and linking to Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons Link Party.  

 

I am also linking to Fun Food Friday at Eats Amazing.

 

Thanks for visiting today! 

Crystal

P.S.  I have included links to some of the products I used to create these lunches in the right column.  If you are on a mobile device you will need to hit View Web Version at the bottom of the page to see these. :)