Lunch for Dad and Daughter

One recent night Bean and I were chatting while I packed up leftovers for the Dude to take for lunch. She watched me start tucking things into an Easy Lunchbox for him to take and made a comment about how delicious his lunch looked, but how it wasn't very decorative.

To surprise her, I packed up a similar lunch for her to take to school the next day. I used the same basic ingredients for both of them and just perked hers up a little with extra decor. It only took a few minutes, since I already had everything out for her dad's lunch, and she was thrilled to pieces to have a pretty version of his meal. "It was almost like we were having lunch together, even though he was at work and I was at school!"

When they both were home they talked together about their matching lunches and how their days had gone. Their lunch breaks are pretty close to the same times, and this was a simple and sweet way for them to stay connected, even though they're both working hard and don't see each other as much.

The Dude's lunch has leftover grilled chicken slices wrapped in a lettuce leaf. He has some homemade chunky guacamole with carrot sticks and tortilla rounds for dipping, as well as cantaloupe and cucumber pieces.

The guacamole is also delicious when scooped over the chicken wrap. 

For Bean, a sweeter version. She also has guacamole and tortilla rounds, but her leftover grilled chicken is cut into cubes and threaded onto mini flower and leaf skewers. Her cucumber pieces are tucked into a pink flower silicone cup, and her cucumbers are sliced and topped with carrot flowers. For an afternoon snack she has green grapes and a small Baybel cheese round.

Two versions of the same lunch, and a connection fostered between dad and daughter. And as a special bonus, these lunches took less than ten minutes each to make and used dinner leftovers, keeping both cost and waste down!

Affiliate links to products used:

Ninja Buns

A lunch for me! Pretzel bun-pastrami sandwich with broccoli, snap peas, ranch for dipping, and some kiwi slices.

Not only do these pretzel buns taste delicious... they're also ninjas!

The addition of a pair of candy eyes turns a regular pretzel bun into a ninja, hiding in the broccoli and snap pea bushes, just waiting for a chance to attack. Princess LOVED this lunch. Usually she eats only a little of her lunch at school or when we're out and saves the rest to eat when she gets home. She would rather talk and play at lunch time than eat. But this lunch she ate almost the whole thing, because "It was a ninja, Mom! I like ninjas. They're sneaky and fast. Ninjas are cool."

For her lunch, Princess has a ninja bun, broccoli and snap peas with ranch, a piece of chocolate, grilled chicken pieces, and fruit salad.

For the Dude, a pretzel bun sandwich with provolone and thin sliced roast beef, multigrain chips with 7 layer bean dip, and a handful of raspberries mixed with some chocolate almonds.

Affiliate links to products used:

One Big, Two Little

One leftovers lunch for the Dude:

Leftover baked salmon with broccoli, rice, roasted brussel sprouts, orange sweet bell peppers, a kiwi, a couple of strawberries, and some dark chocolate cranberries and milk chocolate almonds for dessert.

And two little lunches for Beaker:

A sweet little kitty lunch, with a Nutella CuteZCute cat sandwich, green grapes, blueberries, and CAT spelled out in Trader Joe's cinnamon alphabet cookies.

And for at home:

A sunny day lunch of Sunbutter-and-jam 'sushi' rolls with sliced banana, blueberries, sweet crackers, and an applesauce sunflower with chocolate chip center. Beaker is drinking a 100% juice packet.

Beaker loved the faux sushi rolls, but he was quick to inform me that I could NOT call them sushi. "They're not chewshi, Mom. Chewshi has wice and nummy fish and the black stuff and betchies. This is not chewshi."

He thought the sweet crackers were pretty cool though. We found these chocolate cat cookie/crackers at Trader Joe's, too.

Products used:

Three For Preschool

Three simple lunches for Beaker:

Super Star ~ a Nutella sandwich cut with 3 sizes of star shaped cookie cutter with space themed Goldfish and clementine segments in star shaped silicone cups, and with broccoli and peas in the pod with ranch for dipping. 

Little star shaped cake sprinkles decorate the edges of the outer space section plate.

Stars, moons, rocket ships, and Goldfish ~ so cute!

Simple Sausages and Sauce ~ This lunch has Hilshire Farms mini beef sausages with ketchup for dipping, applesauce in a cup, and Veggie Crisps, with a tiny silicone cup full of mini candies for dessert.

Packed Pasta ~ Italian pasta salad, a chocolate chip cookie, outer space Goldfish, and Crunchmaster rice crackers to take on the go.

Products used: