Kindergarten St. Patrick's Day

Make a green snack for Kindergarten the teacher says, so after narrowing down the green choices with the kiddo, we have lunch and snack fit for the occasion. I really hadn't thought about all the food choices that are green, and there sure are a lot of them! It took some convincing that she didn't need a bite of EVERY green food she came up with. I think I'd need a bigger lunchbox, for sure.While the kiddo has fun in school, mama will be celebrating with some Guinness cupcakes! Bailey's buttercream, anyone? Me, me, me! http://www.zoeslunchbox.com/2012/03/recipe-review-guinness-chocolate.html - in case, you're thinking the same thing...

Butter croissant with herb cream cheese, grapes, green Goldfish crackers, turkey sausage, and a gold chocolate coin.

Spinach, Granny Smith apple, cucumber, kiwi, and green grapes.

In these lunches...

On Our Way

As you read this post, we are on our way to Columbus, Ohio. I know, I know.. it's not a trip to the Bahamas or anything, but it is still a family mini-vacation, and a well needed one, at that. It is just about a 4 hour drive for us, so just at the tipping point for mom to rip all her hair out the 4-year-old, but I'm sure we'll manage. Having been to the area before we had a kid, we knew it would be a good place to go back to that will offer lots of family fun without needing to take a ton of time off work. Hell-looo?! Did anyone say Columbus Zoo & Aquarium? Be warned that any readers may be subjected to heavy doses of pictures next week!

In the meantime, there is lunch. These are from the day before we left, but you can bet we have some snacks packed for the trip, too. And, yes, we packed our Easylunchboxes for the trip! We can't leave home without them!

 

A salad lunch with mixed greens, cheese scraps, and the last few kalamata olives with Ranch dressing in the container, some watermelon and kiwi, and delicious local beans from the Farmer's Market.

Snack box with Goldfish crackers, grapes, cashews and butterscotch chips, Swiss cheese, strawberries, and a mix of cucumbers and bell peppers.

In these lunches...

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Accidental Rainbows

I love it when this happens. A simple lunch that was made to use up odds and ends in the fridge ended up being a rainbow of colors. Better yet, much of it is local from the farmer's market. Pretty soon, we'll be harvesting out of our own garden, too. That is always an exciting time of the summer. Now, if only a rainbow would come out in the sky. There has been far too much rain and cloudy skies (not to mention all that humidity) lately. Time for some more sunshine, for sure!

Bell pepper, cucumber, green beans, and jicama with homemade veggie dip, watermelon, blueberries, Naturebox firecrackers, and a mozzarella/cheddar cheese stick.

In this lunch...


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Earth Day 2013

We try to be mindful of our Earth every day, but especially on Earth Day, it's wonderful to do something a little more to celebrate. The sun is shining today, so that helps. We got the yard cleaned up and ready to go for spring. Food is in the bird feeders and the ground is ready for this year's vegetables and herbs. The kiddo planted her flower seeds, and we enjoyed a colorful, simple snack while we worked. I'm on a mission this year to not just recycle, but to also find new and creative uses for some of the items we discard. I'd love to do more composting, too. Come on warm weather.. I'm ready, let's go!

The Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, mini marshmallows, strawberry, orange bell pepper, celery, Ritz crackers, Trader Joe's dried blueberries.

For more ideas, check out last year's recycle lunch, Earth Day lunch, and 'reduce your footprint' lunch.

In today's lunch...

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Color-Ful Lunch

Today was a busy day for us. We had doctor appointments, errands, decorating for Halloween, cleaning, 'homework', and so forth. But, sitting down and coloring a picture together seems to make all those busy pieces fall right into place. We brought those same colors to life in a lunch today, as well.

Hard boiled egg, colby jack cheese, watermelon, celery, orange bell peppers, and in the container is a couple Trader Joe's mini peanut butter cups.

In this lunch...

Blue Violet Rainbow Wrap-up

So, rounding out my promise to my daughter to provide a rainbow of lunches, I finally tackled blue and purple.. together. I have to say it would have been more successful as a snack or if I had really found what I had set out after. My daughter loves bell peppers and carrots, so I had every intention of a purple carrot and purple pepper veggie sampling. I couldn't find them and ours in the garden are far from ready, so the cauliflower and cabbage I put in the lunch instead.. let's just say they aren't favorites of hers. Well, she tried them and that's all I wanted. So here it is!

Cheerios, Trader Joe's chocolate covered blueberries, Brown Cow vanilla yogurt, blueberries, purple cauliflower, grapes, cabbage, blue cheese dressing in the container, salami, and smoked Gouda cheese.

In this lunch...
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Mellow Yellow

Today was all about yellow, and it's really anything but mellow! I can't believe all the options for yellow foods, but I stuck with what I had on hand rather than going crazy. I wanted yellow watermelon and yellow carrots and a golden kiwi.. could have done something cute with an egg yolk or pasta, but I had a bit too much going on as it was already. Next time..

Yellow bell peppers, summer squash, swiss cheese, ranch in container, organic smoked white meat turkey hot dogs, corn on the cob, graham cracker Goldfish, Golden Delicious apple, Brown Cow vanilla yogurt with yellow star sprinkles, banana, and pineapple.

In this lunch...