Basically Yummy Real Life Lunches

Guess what? I'm a real mom. I don't have an assistant, a nanny, or a fancy kitchen. (I wish!) My kids are real, and sometimes a real pain ;) I get what real life is. I get that not everyone has the time, the skill, the creativity, or the desire to pack artistic bentos. I sometimes lack some or all of those things myself! (It's true.) I'm no supermom - I'm just a regular, real mom, who sometimes takes the time to pack super lunches and blog them :)
But not always!

I also pack plenty of plain, basic lunches, that I don't bother or have time to photograph, and my sproutlets are just as happy eating them. Or not! Making lunch cute does not guarantee it will get eaten! But it's fun - most of the time. On the days that it's not, I'm glad I have cute bento lunchboxes. Somehow they can make regular food look appealing just by their design!

My 6 year old, Sprout, chose what went into the Yumbox lunch above. We ate lunch at home so I just used the inner tray. It took minutes to make, including the time it took to sprinkle & swirl a little coloured sugar on the greek yogurt, at her request. The sproutlets often ask if their lunch has a theme, and if I say no, they like to come up with one themselves if they get a chance to see it. 

Sprout dubbed this one "Summer Yummer" and happily ate it all :)

Something I like about our Yumbox is the properly portioned sections that make remembering to include all the food groups really easy. And Sprout is learning how to pack a healthy lunch when she helps choose what goes into them! She named this bento "I Heart My Lunch".

I'd call this lunch pretty basic too... unless you count that one little heart pick & the heart-shaped granola bar as artistic... and I don't ;)  To be honest,  it's heart-shaped because when Bella didn't finish her Clif bar a couple of days earlier I didn't want the rest to go to waste, so I pressed the uneaten bit into a cookie cutter and saved it :) Lunch recycling!

Yumbox is currently sold out, but will be back in stock very soon, so you can still add it to your Amazon Wish List! We've got the Pomme Green and since it's one of Birdie's favourites I'm sure we'll be adding the Framboise Pink too :

Bento Kid: Pretty Yummy!

Mia Bella packed this pretty & fun lunch herself, with a little prep work help from me - I chopped the cantaloupe & celery and baked the muffin :

Her EasyLunchbox is a salad bar of sorts :) Celery sticks with a dip cup of peanut butter, baby carrots, tomatoes, cucumber slices, cantaloupe chunks, & a carrot muffin. Cute little animal picks look like they're snacking on her lunch!

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Fun stuff used for this lunch:

You can find all these colourful accessories and the EasyLunchboxes at BentoUSA, one of the generous sponsors of my big blog birthday giveaway!

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Bent On Better Lunches Big Birthday Giveaway!

It's my little lunch blog's birthday! My 2nd blogiversary :)

And, I have gifts! Not to keep, to give away! Hooray!

• From EasyLunchboxes, a set of EasyLunchboxes containers in your choice of Classic or Brights & a cooler bag too!
  I ♥ our EasyLunchboxes: A Rainbow of Lunch Possibilities  
• From BentoUSA, a $25 gift voucher to pick out the bento accessories of your choice! ♥ You could get everything I used in this lunch that isn't included in this Giveaway, and more!
• From The Lunch Punch, makers of my favourite sandwich cutters, the Sweet Set, which includes the birthday cake I used today, plus a cupcake, bubblegum machine, & ice cream cones!
• And, in case you could use a little help deciding what to make for lunch, from MOMables, a 3 month MOMables menu subscription PLUS a $25 Amazon.com gift card to buy lunch gear!
  Go Back to School with MOMables!

Pretty much everything you need to pack lunch, except food!

Thank you EasyLunchboxes, BentoUSA, Lunch Punch, & MOMables!

You've been a big part of Bent On Better Lunches since it's beginning and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share your awesomeness :)

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To enter, simply leave me a blog comment. Say anything! 

Then check it off in the Rafflecopter widget below. Like the giveaway sponsors for bonus entries, & tweet daily for even more chances :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pin this image for a bonus entry!

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Lunch is an almond butter on honey wheat birthday cake sandwich with sugar sprinkles, carrot sticks, strawberries, raspberries, & grapes.

Stuff used to make  this lunch:

 

Giveaway open to residents of Canada & USA only. One entrant per household please. Thank you!

Friends Share: Stop for Lunch!

The sproutlets were in go, go, go mode today, it was hard to get them to stop for lunch - even though it was fun bentos! I've been meaning to do a melon ball stop light lunch ever since I picked up the fun traffic sign paper it's sitting on. It's not the first time I've been inspired by a sheet of scrapbook paper :) 

Bella helped a little with this one, she peeled & cut the carrots & scooped the melon balls! Then she snacked of the not-so-round ones while I packed the rest of her lunch. The stop sign is a pepper jack cheese sandwich on honey wheat - sweet & spicy! On the side she has dried strawberries & a protein bar.

Pickle's lunch is his usual, a plain old peanut butter sandwich, yogurt & string cheese - but made cute with a car-shaped silicone cup, a candy stop sign, and alphabet cookie cutters. And I found the perfect Lunchbox Love note to tuck in: "Did you know? Americans spend an average of 8 months waiting at red lights during their lifetime." Pickle loves trivia :)

Pickle's lunch is packed in EasyLunchboxes! I rarely pack his in them because they aren't leakproof enough for yogurt when your kid is as rough & tumble with their lunchbox as my little man is :) But my favourite bento shop BentoUSA recently added the perfect solution to their inventory... 

These water-tight 4 oz sauce cups that fit snugly in the medium section:

 

They even fit with both their lid & the EasyLunchboxes lid on! Hooray!

I know that for many, not being able to pack really wet stuff is the only drawback to the EasyLunchboxes. While the Mini Dippers are fab, they are smaller & don't fill that section. I'm so happy to have found these versatile & inexpensive containers that do! Find them at BentoUSA :)

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This isn't the first time I've packed a lunch with a traffic light in it - I've got one featured in Cooking with Trader Joe's : Easy Lunch Boxes!

Of course, that's not how it looks in the cookbook, that's just the photo that I submitted... the bento pictured in the cookbook was professionally styled & photographed - fancy! But I designed it & wrote the instructions :) 

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Some of my blogger friends have made traffic stopping bentos too...  

Bento For Kidlet is unstoppable!

Bento School Lunches dreams of hitting the road...

Zoe's Lunchbox takes a road trip!

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All pictures belong to their blog owners. Click on them or their attached links to see the full posts on the original sites. (If you would prefer not to be featured, please let me know and I will remove your image.)

Breakfast Bento for Birdie

Rise & shine, it's breakfast time! Birdie's having a summer morning bento of fresh cut strawberry flowers, carrot suns, cheese tulips, bunny grahams, apple blossoms, and yogurt with a garden of sweet sprinkles.

My friend Ludicrous Mama of Biting the Hand That Feeds You recently shared an article she had read, about a study that showed young children prefer many colours and choices on their plate. According to the study, "Children are most attracted to food plates with seven different items and six different colors." Birdie does love her Zak! Nibble Tray, which has 6 sections (9 with with the dip attachment!) Sprinkles are a fun way to add even more colour and kid appeal, and if you count them, she's got her 7 items in 6 colours :)

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Some stuff used to make this bento: