Pool Lunches

We are experiencing a heat wave - like most of the country - and projected temperatures are in the triple digits. The kids want to head to the pool as early as possible and I am all in favor of fun and cool activity.

Heading to the pool in the morning also means we need lunch. For all 5 of us and possibly something more then a box of crackers. We brainstormed together and picked our Easylunchboxes for ease of packing in an assembly line. 

Everybody helped put together the lunches and we kept is simple and uniform to be faster (we packed this lunch in 10 min!) and make it easier on little hands.

The result:

Our 5 Easylunchboxes are packed with:

• cucumbers, carrots, grape tomatoes and radishes
• Annie's Organic Snack Mix
• 3/4 of a sandwich of choice (we packed peanut butter and jelly and cheese sandwiches)
• and a small silicone cup with slice strawberries and a mini fork 

 

We were able to fit all the lunches in two of our Easylunchboxes cooler bags which fit in my beach bag. So convenient!

Yum! We loved our pool lunches and this was so much healthier and nutritious then grabbing snacks from the snack cabinet.

Camp Lunch

We packed lunch for camp today and of course in our new OOTS! lunchbox:

Since it will be hot today I opted for three containers and two large ice packs:

We packed:

• sandwiches with a few Goldfish crackers
• grape tomatoes and cucumbers and
• blueberry yogurt in a leak proof container

I also added a sweet Lunchbox Love Card from the camp edition.

Stay cool today and don't forget to enter to win one of these amazing lunchboxes HERE!

OOTS! Lunchbox Deluxe Review & Giveaway

Just in time for Back to School Season OOTS! sent us their amazing deluxe lunchbox for review and you can win one at the end of this post!

The OOTS! deluxe lunchbox has many features I really love! From the hard plastic exterior to the ample space inside to the strap. The strap obviously is the handle for the lunchbox but also...

... a water bottle strap! Not many lunchboxes are designed to hold your lunch AND your drink. Plus since the water bottle strap is elastic you can fit a regular water bottle or your favorite reusable drink container:

My kids were thrilled about this feature because our LEGO water bottle is very tall and does not fit into any of our other lunchboxes. But is does fit into our new OOTS! lunchbox!

The deluxe lunchbox comes with 5 lunch containers: 1 large container and 4 small ones. The large one holds up to two cups and the small ones about 1 cup. I love the versatility of having so many containers and since they are dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe they are incredibly user friendly. They also have a finger grip on the top of the lid for easy retrieval from the lunch box!

So, What's for lunch? 

We packed:

• yellow peppers and a whole tomato, sliced
• gluten free crackers and Swiss cheese
• a ham, cheese and salad wrap
• a whole small apple, sliced and cored
• and almonds

 That is a lot for lunch? I agree. BUT, not if you see it like this:

This was enough food for my 10 year old plus an afternoon snack. It would have also been enough for me plus snack which means this box will be very versatile! Too much food for your Kindergartners? No problem! Just pack as many containers as you need and pack the lunchbox differently:

For example with two small containers and the water bottle inside the lunchbox. 

The possibilities are endless!

We packed a camp lunch with three containers for example:

The lunch we packed in our OOTS! deluxe lunchbox contains:

• a Chobani Blueberry tube yogurt
• two spider man peanut butter sandwiches
• an egg
• cucumbers and carrots

It fit perfectly in our lunchbox:

I even added a thin ice pack on top of the yogurt tube before closing it. 

So to sum up -->

PROS:

• Hard plastic exterior = no squished food, very durable
• Sleek design = appealing to both kids and adults
• 5 lunch containers = very versatile! Can grow with your child!
• Water bottle strap = bring any drink container to school/work
• The containers are dishwasher safe, microwave safe and freezer safe!

Things to consider:

• The lunchbox does not come with an ice pack. I added thin ice packs to the lunches I packed without issue but once the lunchbox is fully packed there is little to no room for an ice pack. Not an issue if you have access to a refrigerator at school or work but something to consider!
• The lunchbox is big. This lunchbox is much bigger then the regular lunchbox but this was not an issue for us since my kids loved carrying by itself!
• The containers are not leak proof which means you have to be careful when packing yogurt or applesauce. Again, not an issue for us since my kids don't swing or throw their lunchboxes but I could see this being an issue if the lunchbox is placed on it's side in your kids cubby.

OVERALL: We loved trying this lunchbox and it appealed to everyone in the family! I will definitely pack this lunchbox regularly and it will be perfect as well for outings like museum visits and packing lunch for picnics at the park.

Ready to pack an OOTS! deluxe lunchbox for yourself?

The lunchbox comes in a variety of colors:

And you get your choice of which one you would like to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open to US Residents only! Winner will be notified via email and has 48h to respond before a new winner is drawn.

Muffin Tin Monday - Dinosaurs

Today's Muffin Tin Monday theme is DINOSAURS and I immediately thought of my kids favorite song from the Laurie Berkner Band "We are the Dinosaurs." So today's lunch is all about dinosaurs and packed with help from my 4 year old:

We packed a Muffin Tin with:

• cucumber slices with the letter D for Dinosaurs
• a hatching "dinosaur" egg
• edamame "grass" with a flower spoon for the dinosaurs to stomp on
• blueberry yogurt with a dinosaur pick
• dinosaur fossil peanut butter sandwiches
• and dinosaur berries (grapes) - the dinosaurs favorite food according to my daughter :)

And if you have not listened to the adorable "We are the Dinosaurs" song from Laurie Berkner
- you can listen to it here:

I am linking up to:

Homemade Watermelon Slushi

Summer is here and that means pool time, fun summer snacks and Slushis. Only that all the store bought Slushis contain food dye and and are therefore not an option for us.
I have been experimenting with easy to make, fast and fun options and this is our favorite so far:

All you need is:

• 2 cups ripe watermelon
• 2/3 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup ice cubes

How to make your Slushi:

Add 2 cups of cut up watermelon to the blender and blend for a few seconds to break down.

Add 2/3 cup of frozen strawberries and 1 cup of ice cubes and blend until well combined.

Pour and enjoy!

Red, White & Blue Snack

Happy 4th of July!

We packed a healthy and fun snack in our Innobaby Keepin' Fresh Bento box today filled with:

• Red strawberries
• White piel de sapo or Santa Claus melon ( a new food we are trying today!)
• Blue blueberries
• red, white and blue Goldfish crackers
• gluten-free crackers with American Cheese letters

Enjoy your day! What are you packing for lunch today?

Thanks to the clear lid my kids can see the snack before opening the box. What a cute idea, Innobaby!

For more July 4th food ideas check out this linky hosted by BentOnBetterLunches:

PlanetBox Shuttle Review

PlanetBox generously sent us their newly launched lunchbox: The Shuttle! I was excited to try out the new size and see how this lunchbox works for us!

Since PlanetBox sent us the adorable Aliens Shuttle with matching magnets and carrying bag I wanted to make the boys a lunch to match! I packed our Shuttle with:

• plain yogurt sky topped with apple stars
• kiwi slices and cherries
• and a sky sandwich with Swiss cheese moon and stars details

Simple and fun!

We also packed some left overs - which I want to do more this upcoming school year - and this Shuttle lunch contains:

• a salad topped with yellow pepper stars, a yellow pepper space ship with carrot details and a few star shaped croutons
• a piece of chicken
• Spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and
• the Tall Dipper containing dressing for the salad.

And now to my review:

I immediately loved the quality of this box! Made out of stainless steel the lunchbox feels sturdy without being heavy and the overall quality seems superior to other boxes we have tried! Plus, how cute are those adorable magnets (which are optional and many other designs are available HERE).

Another important point for me: The lunchbox is dishwasher safe! A big plus for me since I pack 6 lunches a day and being able to just put all lunchboxes in the dishwasher at night makes clean up so easy! [I have to say here that you have to remember to remove the magnets before putting the lunchbox in the dishwasher! The magnets can be wiped clean but are not recommended for the dishwasher. Just stick on the fridge while the lunchbox is being washed ;)]

The Shuttle comes with the Tall Dipper for sauces and dips and you can purchase the basic Shuttle with the Tall Dipper (without magnets) for $34.95 which makes the Shuttle a very affordable lunchbox of the PlanetBox family!

For only $5 more you can purchase a carry bag and matching magnets and I have to say I would highly recommend both! How cute is this carry bag! The carry bag is made well and keeps the lunch cold during the morning! There is very little room however for an ice pack so using the PlanetBox cold kit or an ice pack sheet will work best!

Both the magnets and carry bag are wipe clean/ hand wash only but well worth their money. My younger kids loved the magnets and they really add a lot of character to the lunchbox! A great way to distinguish between lunchboxes if you have more then one. The carry bag is made well and since I love having sets worth the extra money.

Overall, we really love the PlanetBox Shuttle and look forward to using it often! 

Disclosure: Planetbox sent me the Complete Shuttle lunch set with magnets and carry bag for review. All opinions are honest and my own. This post does not contain affiliate links.