Simple CuteZCute Lunch

The last two mornings have been so hectic that there was little time for creative lunches. Another reminder to myself that packing lunch at night will make your morning that much calmer ;)

But thanks to Easylunchboxes, our trusted quick and easy CuteZCute Sandwich Cutter and of course Lunchbox Love Cards - lunch was still fun!

Lunch is simple today:

• Goldfish crackers
• 1/2 an apple sprinkled with Fruit Fresh to keep from browning
• two Salami Frog CuteZCute sandwiches
• and an ecouraging Lunchbox Love Card!

What I used to make lunch today (contains affiliate links):

Literary Lunches Round Up {2013}

In September of 2013 I started contributing to The Little Crooked Cottage as the official food caterer for their Mr. Pig LIVE! interviews. The Cottagers interview a character from a new book once a month and introduce the author and illustrator. Plus, the interviews are witty! and fun! I compiled all the fun book related lunches from 2013. Grab a book and make lunch!

We love Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar and made a very special lunch in honor of his birthday!

Our first ever Literary Lunch was WARNING! DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOK! from Adam Lehrhaupt.

We also celebrated Roald Dahl's 97th birthday with a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory lunch,..

...tried to catch the Gingerbread Man by Laura Murray who was loose in the school and trying to catch up to the kids at recess after they forgot him in the classroom.

We also helped but together a Tea Party for the bear cub in Ame Dyckman's book Tea Party Rules,

celebrated Susan Meddaugh's birthday the author and illustrator of the Martha Speaks books,...

...and laughed our way through Tom Angleberger's book Crankee Doodle! Crankee Doodle is the rewritten story of Yankee Doodle making this nonsensical and old song a comical, colorful and laugh out loud book for all ages.

We celebrated Crockett Johnson's birthday, author of Harold and The Purple Crayon,

and got to know Nugget and Fang a lovely children's book written by Tammi Sauer that explores the friendship of two unlikely friends: a fish and a shark.

We enjoyed the hilarious retelling of the original story of Little Red Riding Hood: Little Red Writing! by Joan Holub and Melissa Sweet,...

...and learned from Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds (and illustrated by Dan Santat) what happens when some of the world's best known carnivores - the lion, great white shark and wolf - share that their feelings get hurt when they are labeled as meanies.

We celebrated  Marc Brown's 67th birthday with an Arthur themed lunch and...

...tried having a fun day like Squirrel in Squirrel's Fun Day by Lisa Moser (and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev) a funny and friendship filled book perfect for reading aloud!

Swing by The Little Crooked Cottage for fun interviews with book characters, authors introducing their favorite books from their childhood, book suggestions and a lot more!

Eye-a-licious Lunch in Easylunchboxes

We woke up to ice rain, indoor recess (again) and a very cold and dreary morning. I wanted to make lunch fun and after spotting my new eyeball picks in my bento drawer I made a simple but eye-a-licious (as my son said this morning) lunch:

I packed our Easylunchbox with:

• a happy apple
• a few angry bird crackers
• and a monster peanut butter and jelly sandwich 

I also made home made nut-free and gluten-free crunchy cereal bars the other day while stuck at home during these frigid temperatures {recipe will come next week} and added an extra big piece to the lunch. Not pictured are water and a yogurt.

Stay warm out there and dry!

What I used to make this lunch (contains affiliate links):

Vegan Lunch for Work in Laptop Lunches

Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? One of mine is to eat healthier (and less) and therefore packing a lunch for myself and keeping track is a great way to prevent snacking around all day. I found this free site to help me keep track of the calories and lunch today is packed in my Laptop Lunches Bento Box:

 

I packed myself a colorful lunch with:

• a mixed leaf salad (2 cups of spinach and baby romaine lettuce)
• grape tomatoes (4 small ones, chopped)
• avocado (1/2 a medium avocado, sliced)
• mango (1 teaspoon, chopped)
• cilantro (a few leaves)
• home made dressing (2 TBS oil and red wine vinagrette)
• strawberries (8 small ones) and
• 8 gluten-free tortilla chips

Nutritional Info: cal: 555, fat: 37 g, protein: 17g, sodium: 500 mg, sugar: 9.5 g

Did you spot the red and white napkin in my Laptop Lunches? It is one of our new Funkins napkins! If you want to win a set of your own head over to our GIVEAWAY! Good Luck!

FUNKINS Review {with Giveaway}

I LOVE reusable cloth napkins and so do my kids! We have several kinds and pack them into their lunch bags daily. But lately my kids have been complaining that the cafeteria tables are not very clean and they just wished the napkins were bigger so they could put their lunchboxes ON TOP OF the napkins. I looked around and found FUNKINS who were beyond generous and sent me several different napkins to try:

There was something for everybody! Christmas and Winter ones (which I used all through December on the blog), mermaids, cherries and plenty of pink as well as camo, robots, cars and football. Everyone in this house age 4-11 found their favorites!

There are so many things I loved right away! The quality of the fabric, that they are double sided, washable, able to go in the dryer and just the right size to serve as a place mat! But the best feature of all (especially when you have multiple kids!) is the...

... NAME TAGS! No more lost napkins! Everyone knows which napkins belongs whom!

We used our napkins all through December and they have replaced our smaller ones! The kids love the patterns, size and colors. I like that they are eco-friendly, reusable, machine washable, keep my kids food of the cafeteria table and I can even use them as lunch props or for decorating our dinner table ;)

My preschooler often takes her food out of her lunchbox and promptly puts it on the table (ewww, all these germs!) but using these Funkins keeps the food germ free! I grab them when on the road in the car, heading out for dinner or sometimes even at home! They are practical, fun and sturdy.

What we loved:

• Size! They are 13" x 15" and can double as a place mat
• Made from 100% cotton fabric using low impact dyes
• Fabrics are CPSIA Compliant
• Lead and Phthalate free
• machine washable and can be dried in the dryer
• fun, bright prints
• double sided for more fun
• perfect for on-the-go and restaurants
• perfect if you are looking for an eco-friendly, waste-free addition to your lunchboxes!

Want to win some? THREE lucky readers will win a set of Funkins of their choice (includes three napkins). Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents and Canada Residents only! Winner will be contacted via email and has 24 hours to respond to claim the prize. GOOD LUCK!

Dislaimer: Funkins sent me napkins to review. All opinions are my own.

Squirrel's Fun Day - a Literary Lunch

Squirrel's Fun Day by Lisa Moser and illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev is the perfect book for spending time outside! Take a hike or walk and then read this funny book about a squirrel determined to have a fun day. He is trying so hard to make this day fun for everyone he doesn't always see that his "Gotta go. Gotta go. Gotta go, go, go" attitude does not work for everyone. In the end this is a funny and friendship filled book perfect for reading aloud!

We packed a lunch on-the-go in our Innobaby Keepin' Fresh bento box filled with:

• a Squirrel peanut butter sandwich
• almonds
• wild strawberries
• carrots
• corn and peas
• cucumber wheels 
• and hidden underneath the squirrel a sweet cream cheese and strawberry sandwich because underneath it all the squirrel is sweet and caring.

This lunch was previously published at The Little Crooked Cottage and if you liked this post go and read the hilarious interview with Lisa Moser's Squirrel HERE!

Things I used to make this lunch (contains affiliate links):

My Favorite Posts of 2013

2013 was a great year for my blog! Thank you so much for all your support, comment love and input! I looked back at the lunches and recipes I made this year and compiled my favorites from each month to share with you.

January:

Whole Grain Pizza Pocket School Lunch in Easylunchboxes. This is not only a favorite post but a favorite lunch we pack a lot. For more info click on the picture!

February:

Valentine's School Lunch in Easylunchboxes packed with lots of love.

March:

Kiss me! I'm Irish! We love St. Paddy's Day and of course I had to pack one in our ECOlunchbox for school as well.

April:

My daughter loves her Din Din Platter from Innobaby and we both loved this Mouse lunch! 

May:

Instead of going through the Drive-thru we packed this breakfast to go in our Laptop Lunches bento box!

June:

We love Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar book and on his birthday we packed a special lunch in our Innobaby bento box!

July:

We love Mickey Mouse and after finding these adorable cutters on Ebay we packed a fun Mickey lunch in our yubo!

August:

The first day of school was filled with excitement and a Snoopy lunch in our Laptop Lunches bento box!

September:

Argh! International Talk Like A Pirate Day comes only once a year, Mateys! We loved celebrating it with a Jake and the Neverland Pirate Lunch in our Planetbox Shuttle!

October:

A spooky Halloween lunch in our Planetbox Shuttle!

November:

I started contributing to a fabulous new blog this year: The Little Crooked Cottage! This is my favorite Literary Lunch - again in Easylunchboxes - so far! A hilarious book that portraits what happens when some of the world's best known carnivores - the lion, great white shark and wolf - share that their feelings get hurt when they are labeled as meanies. 

December:

I love making Christmas lunches so it was hard to pick but I do love this Christmas bento in our Laptop Lunches!

Which one was your favorite? I would love to hear!

Have a very happy 2014 and may all your dreams for the new year come true!