Make Your Own Pizza Lunches!

Recently, I contributed a post on MOMables' blog, making my own healthier, fresh version of a packaged DIY pizza lunch. My girls loved my version and have been asking me to make it again just about every other day since.

Here's Bella's pizzable. She has ham, whole wheat sandwich thins for crust, marinara sauce in a little leak-proof container (lid not shown), a sweet mini pepper, shredded cheese, and a side of grapes.

Sprout & Birdie had a muffin tin version of the same thing:

● ● ● ● ●

I overslept this morning, so we were running way behind, and I didn't have time to pack lunch for everyone or we'd be late for school. I packed Beanstalk's Lock & Lock (ham, grapes, Clif Kid Z bar & Gala apple wedges), but told Bella & Pickle to have the school hot lunch.

Tuesday is breakfast for lunch day at school - they sometimes do want that - but of course, not today. *sigh* I said I'd try to drop off some home made ones before their lunch periods, but if I didn't, to just have the school lunch.

After running some errands,  I did have time to make lunch for them. I made Bella's, then got out the peanut butter for Pickle's sandwich - but where was the bread? Sailor Boy had bought bread the day before... where could he have put it? Unfortunately he was on an airplane so I couldn't ask him. We did have hot dog buns, so I made Pickle some peanut butter dogs instead:

I dropped off Pickle's lunch in time, but I must have been confused about what time Bella went to lunch (she's at a different school) because when I got there, she was already at a table with a school lunch tray (and apparently they get to pump their own syrup, because her pancakes were swimming in a pool of it).

As soon as she saw me, Bella shoved her tray away. "Hang on," I teased, "you don't even know what I brought, how do you know it's better than what you have?" The girl next to her piped up "Anything is better than the school lunch!" The rest of the table agreed, and Bella excitedly opened her EasyLunchbox, squealing at the sight of her pizza lunch :

Way better than Lunchables...  it's Pizzables!

I wished I could have brought lunch for her whole table :)
My friend Keeley of Keeley McGuire Blog did just that today - brought lunch for everyone ♥ You have to read her heartwarming post - when you're done with mine of course :) Pay It Forward - Bento Blessings 

Back at home, it was Sprout & Birdie's turn to make their own mini pizzas:

Sprout piled half the shredded cheddar beside her plate right away, before spreading her sauce - she was worried her sister would eat all of it before she got any - a valid concern, Birdie's a cheese fiend!

Birdie took some ham! She rarely eats any meat - but sometimes likes ham (thanks to Ponyo!) Nobody touched the yellow pepper - not even cutting it to look like little flowers enticed them today.

After eating half her pizza, my funny little Birdie decided what it needed was a grape on top, "like a cherry".  Silly sproutlet :)

The DIY Pizza lunch that inspired today's was just one of a series of healthier lunch remakes I'm collaborating on with MOMables for our Lunchbox Wars series - a this vs that of the lunchbox.  If there's a packaged lunch you'd like to see remade,  head over to MOMables and let us know!

Saturday Evening Post : I'm Feeling Comical

This Calvin & Hobbes comic is so funny to me, because it's so true!

I love Calvin & Hobbes. I usually totally relate to Calvin :) But sometimes, I relate more to Calvin's mom! Like in this comic:

Thanks for stopping by my blog on the week-end! 

Have a great S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

Just Lunch

No themes, nothing cute or creative today, it's just lunch :)

Cheese crackers, honey ham, grapes & granola bar in a LunchBots Quad.

Fig Newtons, carrot sticks, apple wedges, bunny fruit snacks & a peanut butter sandwich, in an EasyLunchbox :

Okay, so I did use a Lunch Punch to make Bella's sandwich, so it's a little bit cute... She asked me to cut her crusts cut off, and the Lunch Punch does that in one step, the cuteness is a bonus :) And Pickle is still demanding his sandwich be plain with the crusts on - there's no fun for me in that!

The Amazing Spider-Man PlanetBox

With Beanstalk's upcoming Avengers themed birthday party on my mind, I'm on a bit of a Marvel streak with his lunches - he's had Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, & Iron Man bentos, & today,  the Amazing Spider-Man :

This PlanetBox lunch contains NatureBox Zingy Currants (Beanstalk calls them mini-raisins), blueberry-pomegranate fruit leather squares, Granny smith apple wedges, a peanut almond granola bar, and in the PlanetBox Big Dipper, a web of ramen noodles (with a Spidey cupcake topper). He has the hot broth for the ramen noodles in a Thermos (not pictured). I pack them separately so the noodles don't turn into a soggy pasta brick in the Thermos (that's happened before); he can mix them when he's ready to eat.

If my arm wasn't in a sling I'd have attempted carving a web into an apple peel or fruit leather or something - I may have to do a sequel lunch at a later date :)

Lunch for the Man & a Gumball Sandwich ;)

I wrote a little note on the lid of Sailor Boy's EasyLunchbox, with Dry Erase marker: "Have a great day! Love from your favourite chick!", and inside there is a little yellow chick pick in his strawberries - heh heh :)

He got pizza dippers - a leftover slice of Papa Murphy's cheese pizza cut in bite sized pieces, with some marinara sauce to dip them in - a couple of peppers, and a pepperoni butterfly. On the side he has fresh strawberry slices (with a chick pick) and some NatureBox Cranberry Jubilee snack mix.

Gumballs for lunch for Pickle! Ha ha, not really - he has a peanut butter sandwich made with a gumball machine shaped Lunch Punch, embellished with bread crust gumballs (stuck on with peanut butter).

Bella had ham & cheddar on wheat sandwich thins, mozzarella bites on heart picks, celery & peppers, Kashi Fire Roasted Veggie crackers, and a couple of whole wheat Fig Newtons.

Beanstalk's PlanetBox contained some honey ham, red grapes, a Clif Z Bar, raisins, and pomegranate & blueberry fruit leather.

Beanstalk also got a yogurt drink, not shown. His Nalgene cup has gone missing so I let him pick out some convenience drinks to take until we get a new one, and he chose yogurt shakes. 

Anyone with older kids have a favourite reusable drink container? Recommendation comments welcome!

Stuff used for these lunches: