Teddy Bear

Today we have a cute little lunchtime teddy bear for lunch. 

I used Silver Hills Gluten-free Omega Flax bread and just trimmed the bottom to create the jaw line. We've got a thin layer of PB topped with cucumbers for ears, nose and trimmed cucumber skin for the mouth; raisins for the eyes and nose. Top of the 'shirt' is made from orange slices and tomato slices.

This one was a real hit with Cam.

Shark fail - oops!

Well, they can't all be winners, can they? I was trying to make shark head - it certainly didn't turn out well. I like the idea, but I'm going to have to work on the execution. 

PB and J, with a strawberry/raisin mouth (with the tail of a goldfish). Raisins for the eyes and nose. Goldfish swimming by.

Good idea, will need to attempt it again.

Sailing Away

He asked for a sailboat - he got a sailboat. I LOVE this one, and it was super-easy to make.

One piece of bread made the boat and sail (with peanut butter, of course). Cucumbers for the windows and clouds. A cheese string for the sail.

Too cute!

Choo Choo...

I choo choo choo choose you! An amazing friend gave Cameron a bunch of her daughter's Thomas trains last week. Well, it's a Thomas obsession at our house! It's all he plays with and talks about. So much fun! So I couldn't help but create a train inspired lunch.

We have the favourite PB on whole wheat. I cut the bread into an engine and two cars. Cheerios make the wheels and smoke. The first car is carrying grapes, the second craisins. The track and window are made from cucumber. 

This was definitely Cam's favourite so far. 

Fish Sandwich

A fish sandwich for a preschooler. 

I used a piece of homemade whole wheat banana oat bread with butter. Some carrot halves made the scales and tail. A banana slice for the eye and bubbles and a craisin for the mouth and pupils. Love this one!

KD face

Every now and then we have to jump off the healthy food bandwagon. But I figure you can always add some healthiness back in! Cameron asked for KD today, and I figured "Why not!"

Here was have 1/3 cup of prepared KD. Apple slices for the ears and mouth. Craisins for the eyes, a grape for the nose and some cucumber for the hair. I wish I had done something fancier for the hair, but we were heading into nap time and I figured I would just get 'er done!

Dinosaur

Monday blues have hit our house. Cameron is missing Rayna desperately as she is off to school. When I asked what he wanted for lunch he roared at me and said: "A dinosaur!!!" I'm going to admit, I had to look at Pinterest for some ideas.

Here we have bread with PB; I cut out a mouth and used it as an arm. A craisin for the eye, cucumbers for the teeth, claws, and spikes. And then just because I love him to pieces, some strawberry hearts. 

Back-to-School Lunch

I'm so in-love with this bento box made by Laptop Lunches. I love bento-style lunches because it makes portion control so easy, and allows for lots of fun options. I'm not planning on making theme-lunches all year, as trying to get the shapes to stay together while she bangs her lunchbox all the way to school will just end up destroying my hard work. But I couldn't resist for the first day. 

For snacks I've put in yoghurt with strawberries, grapes and pretzel Goldfish. For lunch we have a pencil sandwich (in honour of her first day). Bread cut in the shape of a pencil, cheddar cheese, mozzarella and ham for the decoration. I also included some carrot and cucumber sticks with humus. 

Here's hoping the lunch goes over well!  

Back to School :'(

Well, the day is here. My beautiful Rayna is off to school for the first time! As a teacher, I figured I would be absolutely fine with this day. Turns out that's not the case. I don't think any of us are ever truly prepared to pass our young children off to someone else. 

We have worked hard to instil values, morals, responsibility and kindness into our children. We are used to being in control of what they are exposed to. I am her protector, encourager and cheer leader. Releasing her into the hands of someone else who doesn't know or understand her joys, fears or quirks is terrifying. The only strength I have in this is that no matter what she is in God's hands. He is her true protector and I'm just going to have to trust him in this.

Ladybug Ham 'n Cheese

 This one is a favourite! I cut the bread into circles using a cup, did the same with the ham. For the wings I used a straw to make the spots. A piece of crust made the head, with a bit of trimmed ham for the antennae. I added some blueberries and carrot hearts for fruit 'n veg.

Cameron loved this one. "Mommy, I bite his head off." Here he is, chewing the head.

Rainbow

It's the first day of school for most kids and this morning the sky was cloudy and it made me think of rainbows. Not sure why, I didn't see one...

Here we have a fruit-filled rainbow, strawberries, oranges, bananas, grapes and blueberries. I did have purple grapes for the last line, but forgot them.

I separated an egg and cooked the whites in one pan and the yolk in another. I intended to use the yolk as a sun, but I just couldn't get it placed properly. I am not happy with how the egg turned out, but it's fun anyway.

Butterfly

So now I'm sick too, but the challenge to make fun lunches can't be forgotten. I got this idea from Facebook when a friend posted a simple way to cut a cake to create a butterfly. I figured I could turn it into lunch! 

I used a cup to cut a hole in a PB sandwich, then cut the circle according to the instruction for the cake and placed the segments accordingly. I used apple  slices and raisins to decorate the butterfly and and some strawberry hearts because I felt it needed more.

I'm going to come back to this idea another day when I feel better. I think it could be vastly improved.

PB Puppy

Yesterday was such a success, I thought I'd try it again. After some research looking at Pinterest for inspiration, while neglecting laundry and dirty bathrooms, I felt ready to try something else: the PB Puppy.

I used a plastic cup to cut a circle in some bread. Dried apricot spot and raisins for the eyes. Cucumber slices for the ears and a chunk of cucumber for the collar. Cheese string for the mouth, ear, and dog bones. 

The start of it all - Flower

This was the first, the one that started it all. Matt was away umpiring in Alberta. Rayna, 4, Cameron, 2, and Braedon 6 weeks were all sick and I was going crazy. In a moment of utter brilliance I suggested that if the older two would go off and play for a bit I would make a surprise for lunch. And so a lunchtime passion was born. It had to be healthy. It had to be fun. And it had to be something they would eat.

I made a flower from apple slices, strawberry slices and egg slices. It's hard to see but the strawberries behind the egg are the same heartshape as the leaves. The stem is a celery stick, with smaller celery sticks for the branches. I felt it need something else so I added 'grass' with some celery bits.