mommy + me lunch box

Despite all the festivities, parties, programs, birthdays, cakeballs, and rush during holidays, we had a very wonderful relaxed Christmas! Of course, priorities had to be set and there are some things that didn't get done... like sending out Christmas cards, the massive cookie baking session (although we did manage to do a cookie decorating party with the kids), all the cool Pinterest-inspired DIY homemade gifts that I had planned, and of course, blogging. But ya'll understand right? I knew you would, so THANKS! Strawberry jam filled sandwich using Pampered Chef's Cut-N-Seal with blackberries, cottage cheese and carrots/ranch My husband made our family's popular Filipino-style chicken macaroni soup ("Sopas") with cucumbers, applesauce and fruitsnacks.  I will probably post the macaroni soup recipe in the future. This is one of our favorites and my ultimate comfort food from the Philippines. Cupcake sandwich from the Lunch Punch Sweet Set I wo...

WARNING :  GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW! {.lol.} It snowed a couple weeks ago... our first snow that actually accumulated and Miss C and DH (dear husband) were able to build a snowman. "Magic" was his name and she was so proud of it! Miss C and "Magic" the snowman Then it warmed up and rained the following weekend... then DH got ahold of a 7-iron... Miss C was at her Lola's house so she did NOT witness this massacre...  ( Lola = Grandmother in Tagalog) In Honor of Magic: Magic the snowman, aka turkey and cheese sandwich... with berry kabobs, cheez-its, and fruit cereal bar. 

Last week, I won a set of The Lunch Punch Sweet Set from BentOnBetterLunches ! I was so excited! Most of my friends know that I dabble on cake decorating on the weekends, so  I have been eyeing this sandwich cutter set for several weeks now. I even had it in my Christmas list (sorry, dear husband, you have to think of something else!) So I was super excited when Cristi from  BentOnBetterLunches  notified me that I won her giveaway. image from The Lunch Punch I got it a few days later and this is what we made: Cake Sandwich on top of grapes,  veggie chips, cheese stick and strawberry wafers It was on those mornings, where nothing was going according to plan: I left my camera at work, so I had to take a picture of the sandwich with my cell phone; Miss C's jeans were still a little damp around the waistline and she did not want her hair combed... and we were running late, so I didn't get to add any decorations on top, but that's okay, be...

#39 meatballs, carrot sticks, watermelon, crackers, and jell-o The meatballs were leftover from our Small Group dinner. Its a super easy recipe that I'm sure most people already know or have had: 1 bottle of chili, 1 jar of grape jelly, and a bag of frozen meatballs; 4-6 hours in a crockpot. #40  chicken and vegetable potstickers, sesame noodles carrots & ranch, and edamame #41  apple, carrot sticks and yogurt Miss C was involved in a motions/karate program for 5 weeks. Its a weekly karate/attitude class that met between her preschool class and play-and-stay. On their last day of the program had a pizza party so that the kids can showcase moves that they practiced. I packed something that would add a little bit more nutrition than a cheese pizza.  #42  lunchables turkey, cheese, crackers, and carrots #43  breakfast for lunch:  scrambled egg, fruit loops(milk not pictured), yogurt, and apple It ...

salad, mozzarella stick bites, crackers bananas, and pudding cup. I love the fact that my kid likes salad. I pray that this will always be the case most of the time!

Turkey and cheese mini flower sandwiches, mandarin oranges, goldfish crackers, and pudding cup.

Miss C's lunch was leftover turkey sausages and pesto ravioli with fruit cocktails and Thomas the Train fruit snacks. My lunch was leftover pesto ravioli with turkey & cheese sausage with edamame and fruit cocktail.  I have access to a full kitchen to warm up my lunch,  that's why my sausage looks unheated and the edamame is still frozen. 

Strawberry Sushi  with Edamame mozz cheese stick and applesauce. I am also so glad I found a network of bento bloggers -- they are so full of ideas and so so creative! My lunches does not compare the awesomeness of these ladies... serious bento stuff there! I think I'll post a "Bento Crush" once a week and give them kudos individually! :) Speaking of posts... I haven't been doing any Pinday stuff! totally slacking...  We've made these 2 yummy Pinterest-inspired dishes, but I forgot to take pictures before they got eaten up! via  Pinterest Via Pinterest

Miss C specifically requested sloppy joes for lunch during dinner the night before with edamame, applesauce, and chocolate covered pretzels   Same lunch for mommy w/o applesauce I have Adam Sandler  "Lunch Lady Land"  song... the "Sloppy Joes, Slop-Sloppy Joes" part (@2:01s). ha!

Turkey and cheese sandwiches, coconut crackers,  banana chips and strawberry "gogurt". This was the day Miss C informed me she no longer likes banana chips. But I know better... she goes through these picky phases. Sometimes it sticks longer than what I would like, but most of the time, she forgets that she doesn't like something. For example, she used to love onions. She would take onion rings, break them in half and pull out the onion and eat that. Then she took a bite of pizza with a piece of onion that wasn't cooked through, and that was enough for her to declare that she "hates onions." Last weekend, I made her breakfast--  scrambled egg and toast.  I then added sauteed onions to my scrambled eggs. And guess who ate half of my food? Yup. Miss C now "loves onions" once again. Moral of the story? Just because your child may say he/she doesn't like something, keep trying (but don't force them). You never know when they'll cha...

Chicken and rice soup, with oyster crackers, pineapple, watermelon and rice krispie treat. Note to self: Miss C isn't a fan of soup for lunches. She said "at least I took 2 bites!"

Miss C's lunch was breakfast! Cheerios (with milk), sausage,  banana chips and strawberries w/cheese stick and fruit snacks. She absolutely loved breakfasts for lunches!  This will definitely be my backup plan on those mornings that  I am completely unprepared for to pack lunches!   My lunch was a fish taco bento with tator tots and apple. my quick fish tacos recipe:   haddock fillets (or fish sticks) wrapped in flour or corn tortillas and  topped with coleslaw and shredded cheese (not pictured) optional a squeeze of lemon or lime. (instead of regular coleslaw, I just shred cabbage and mix in mayo and pickle relish) 

Turkey sausage with corn, watermelon and Scooby graham cracker snacks. Miss C was ecstatic that there was cheese INSIDE the sausage!

Miss C's lunch was leftover tortellini with spaghetti sauce for dipping  with corn, rice krispie treat and strawberry "gogurt"  My lunch was Chef Boyardee Beefaroni with cottage cheese. Don't judge. CB was on sale so I had a stash of CB Beefaroni or Ravioli at work for those days that I either forget to bring my lunch and cannot or don't feel like leaving the office for lunch. Its another one to put in the "don't knock it till you try it" file. I think the cottage cheese makes it creamier and takes away the "canned pasta" taste to it.

What a Halloween weekend! It all started Friday... Here is Miss C's lunch at school: Pumpkin Sandwich (turkey),  candy corn, peaches, pretzels and snap pea crips I don't have fancy cutters, just cookie cutters and some sandwich cutters, so I took a pumpkin cookie cutter to shape the sandwich. Cut the bread, meat, cheese separately and stack... much easier than cutting through an assembled sandwich. I used watered down orange food color and dabbed it onto the bread, and toasted it so that the coloring dried a little so the bread wouldn't turn soggy. Then I used an edible maker to add the eyes and mouth. Then Friday night, we went to the local mall where they had trick or treat event and most of the stores handed out candy.  Saturday, we went to a nearby indoor waterpark where they hosted a Fall Fest with crafts, costume contests and games. We swam, played, and played and stayed overnight at the hotel attached to the waterpark. The hotel also had a costu...

"Egg Drop" Ramen, with mixed vegetables, mandarin oranges and frozen "gogurt" Butterfly turkey/cheese sandwich (with gummy butterfly) grapes, fish crackers and cauliflower w/ranch dip "Pig in a blanket" (hotdog wrapped in croissant) mandarin oranges, veggie chips, and frozen "gogurt"

Meatballs with salad, grapes and coconut crackers No, its not fun or creative, but Miss C did come home, gave me a hug and said, "Thank you, Mommy, for putting CHEESE on my salad!!!!" ((warm fuzzies)) Love that kid . :)

French Toast Sticks w/maple syrup for dipping grapes, mozzarella sticks and raisins. Nothing magical or fancy about this lunch or breakfast. Breakfast for lunch. But Miss C loved it! I would love to report that her bento came back empty, but she decided she does not like raisins anymore. At least for the moment. Toddlers! 

SBJ Sushi with piches, green pea crips, and strawberry wafers I finally mastered the art of rolling sushi! Sandwich sushi, that is. Thanks to an amazing blog post by Melissa of Another Lunch , a tutorial on how to roll them.  I had tried making these before but the bread fell apart and it didn't seem long enough to creat that spiral effect.  Its all about squishing and flattening 2 pieces of bread together before adding the filling and rolling! 

Miss C's lunch: Ramen noodles with vegetables and hardboiled eggs with applesauce. its actually just 1egg  (I cut 2 eggs in  half and took the  egg yolks out and ate the other halves for my breakfast) My lunch consisted of leftover butter chicken (makhani), rice and stir fried green beans. Miss C came home that day and we noticed that she ate her applesauce but did not eat a single bite of her ramen noodles. Its one of her favorite lunches. We knew something was wrong... sure enough, she ended up with a fever and sore throat that night and missed school the next day. 

Miss C's lunch: SBJ (sunbutter & jelly) w/a handful of candy corn grapes, hummus (chickpea bean dip) and pita chips, and "go-gurt" My lunch:  leftover fried chicken, grapes, hummus and pita chips.