End of the Harvest

While our herbs will be growing strong for a while yet, the last of our tomatoes was chopped up for a lunch side today. Not only does the garden being prepped for winter signify that time of year has come, but we always start our No Bake Energy Bites batches going shortly after school starts. This is our first batch of the season. We always make them exactly the same, but I think I'll be trying to add some dried fruits and nuts for a twist this year..  If you haven't had these, you must!

For daddy - Turkey and Swiss wraps with Havarti on the side, the last of the fresh tomatoes from the garden (with some basil from the garden too), watermelon, and energy bites.

Turkey and Swiss sandwiches, cucumber, and watermelon. Not pictured was snack, which was pita chips and hummus.

In these lunches...

A Beary Special Nibbler Lunch

In an effort to clear out some odds and ends in the fridge, many a 'nibbler' or snack box style lunch is born... ever changing based on what small bits of this and that we have left hanging around. Not enough meat for a sandwich, end of a box of crackers, last bit of fruit or veggie in the crisper drawer.. yup, that stuff makes for a great lunch!

Smoked turkey, grapes, olives and capers, Havarti cheese, Trader Joe's cheddar rockets, and cucumber.

Snack today was grapes and celery with Trader Joe's cookie butter.

In this lunch...

Late Summer Butterflies

So, I know it's not really butterfly season, but I girl can be hopeful that the warm weather will stick around just a bit longer, right? I'm not ready to let go of summer. So, while there is still a warm, sunny day, butterflies it is, dangit.

Kabobs with whole wheat bread, cheddar jack cheese, turkey, and salami with mustard to dip, cucumbers, and watermelon.

Snack today was butter pretzels, raw pecans, mozzarella cheese, and a Trader Joe's yogurt star cookie.

In this lunch...

The Witches - Roald Dahl Day Hop

Yesterday was Roald Dahl Day, which is celebrated every year on his birthday, September 13th. Not only did I grow up reading Dahl's books and watching films adapted from them, but now I get to share them with my daughter.. and with a little bit of interpretation, lunch! I'm not alone in this, of course, so along with some fellow bloggers, we decided to do a Dahl-icious Blog Hop!

This year, I decided to use one of my favorite books from Dahl, The Witches, as inspiration for the hop. In a previous year, we also used that inspiration to make our own version of vegetarian split pea soup... so yummy and back on the menu this week thanks to some unseasonable cool weather. The Witches, if you haven't read it (and you need to .. just as soon as you are done with the hop, that is), introduces it's main character, and readers, to real witches... dangerous, terrifying, vile creatures that have powerful magic, especially the Grand High Witch! In an effort to rid the world of children, a plan is devised to turn them into mice by luring them in with chocolate and sweets laced with a special potion, Formula 86: Delay action mouse maker. But, these witches weren't expecting one special boy and his very special grandmother!

Cheese sandwich (seems appropriate for a mouse, right?), Hershey's kiss, peas, and creamed maple applesauce. Awe.. look how cute that mouse is!

And, I certainly couldn't forget our own vial of Formula 86 AKA apple juice with this lunch.

Now, it's time to hop on over to the next blog, Bebento-Kids, and see what inspired them! Click through this link or the graphic below!

When you make it all the way through the hop and end up back here, be sure to check out previous year's inspiration, James and the Giant Peach, too!

In these lunches...

The First Day of First Grade

I can't quite grasp the fact that the day has finally arrived. When summer began, I felt like school was a lifetime away, but here we are... the first day of 1st Grade! The time flew... I should have known it would. I find myself both excited for what the year will bring, what changes and growth are to come, and equally sad because every step towards those things sometimes seems a step further away from my little girl. Some days are just harder than others to watch her walk away...

I decided that I would take requests on the first day's lunch, and it should have been no surprise that waffles was what immediately got asked for. Waffles, it is!

Waffles w/ maple syrup, Colby Jack cheese, shredded carrots and a mini marshmallow, along with Silk dark chocolate almond milk and water.

Snack box - tricolor seedless grapes and a nut mix of raw almonds, cashews, dry roasted peanuts, and butterscotch chips.

Lunch, snack, napkin, and drinks were packed in our brand new Pottery Barn retro lunchbag that we were lucky enough to score at a local PB Outlet (thanks Gram). We also picked up a pencil bag that I may or may not have snagged for my own gel pens.. oops. The lunchbox we used today was also from Pottery Barn, but some of the other little goodies can be scored from Amazon in the affiliate links below.

In this lunch...