Love and Flowers Lunch

Phew-colors are done!  While it is nice to have an occasional theme for lunch, it puts a lot more pressure on me.  I usually don't have a theme and instead go with what is in the fridge and pantry and just throw something together.  These are the lunches that get sent the most frequently to school because I value my sleep and do not want to get up any earlier than necessary.  Typically I put a lunch and snack together while Belli eats her breakfast.

Some quick tips to make your morning easier: 

1. Try and pre-plan your lunch the night before. (This is what I do in lieu of counting sheep)
2. Prep melons ahead of time. I cube some to eat for breakfast, snack, etc and leave a few slices so that I can easily punch out a few shapes in the morning.
3. Pre-wash and prep veggies. I leave a few whole, slice some and cut some in sticks-it is all about the variety.  To make the carrot hearts I sliced a V in the top of the carrot and then made a V on the bottom, then slice them and voila a little carrot heart!

 Hope that this makes it even easier to make yummy, FUN and healthy lunches!!!

Spinach Salad with Carrot Hearts and Balsamic Dressing, Mini Bagel with Cream Cheese and Salami, Watermelon Flowers, Pistachios, and Sour Gummi Colas.

Color of the Day Lunch-Rainbow

Sunshine Pizza's, Yogurt Cloud, Rainbow:Raspberries, Watermelon, Peach, Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Kiwi, Blueberries, Purple Plumcot, Golden Peppers at the End of the Rainbow in a Snow Pea Field and Mini Chocolate Chips.

Color of the Day Lunch-Orange

Orange is another GREAT color when it comes to food. I could have been much more creative with this lunch, but I was feeling a bit under the weather and overslept, so this one was put together in haste!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich (I wrapped it in foil before closing her lunch to help keep it a bit warmer), Cheese Chex Mix, Cantaloupe Flowers with a couple Raspberries, Orange Bell Peppers,  and Orange Fruit Bunnies.

Color of the Day Lunch-Pink

I have a rather adventurous eater when it comes to my Belli, which makes lunches fun!  She ADORES fish! She likes it canned, smoked, streamed, baked, but her favorite way is raw, she really digs sashimi with just a bit of soy sauce.  She eats the fish first and then occasionally eats the rice if she is still hungry.

 For Pink Day I picked up her favorite three pink fish: Salmon, Tuna and, Shrimp and went and had lunch with my favorite girl!  I also brought along some Strawberries, Belli quickly reminded me that they are not pink. My excuse,"the insides are a shade of pink" and a pink cookie for dessert.

Color of the Day Lunch-Black and White

We can't have Black and White Day without the iconic Oreo cookie, which is also known in our house as Babu's Cookie. Babu is Belli's Granddad and she LOVES being able to share her Oreos with Babu!

White Queso with Hatch Green Chile Salsa and Black Beans, White Corn Chips with Flax Seeds, Black Grapes, Blackberries, White Peach with Black Plum Star and Black Plum with White Peach Star, Yogurt and Chocolate covered Pretzels and Mini Babu Cookies.

Color of the Day Lunch-Purple

Purple is Belli's Grandmom, Bibi's, favorite color!  I was thinking would be an easy color to work with for Belli's Bites.  I quickly realized that while it is a great color for fruit, there are few veggies that are purple and even fewer main courses.  So I went online and found a great recipe for:

Pasta with Purple Cauliflower at Rosemary and The Goat

 Pasta with Purple Cauliflower and Walnut Cream Sauce, Purple Grapes, Purple Figs with Blueberry Yogurt, and Purple Plumcots.  I did not have anything sweet for the center square, so Ms. K at school gave me some Purple Skittles to complete the meal! :)

Color of the Day Lunch-Green

When it comes to food-Green was a fun and easy day!  There are a TON of choices that could be used, this is what Belli was wanting for the day......

Pasta with Pesto, Green Grapes, Cucumbers, Snow Peas and Celery Salad (with Balsamic Dressing in the Fish), Kiwi, Pistachios and a few Mini Green Gummi Bears

Color of the Day Lunch-Blue

Blue is my absolute favorite color, it reminds me of the ocean and water which always seems to calm me. That being said, it is my LEAST favorite color for Color of the Day Lunch.  Think about it for a moment, how many blue foods can you think of that are naturally occurring?  Hard to do, isn't it?  I can only come up with 3-blueberries, blue corn and blue/purple potatoes. That does not make for an easy lunch.  I learned the hard way last year that Belli prefers not have her food dyed so that made it nearly impossible. She does not mind a little luster dust or edible glitter to add some color, thankfully! Here is what I came up with, 

let me know what  you think......

Hummus with Carrots, Blue Potato Chips, Blueberries, Blueberry Yogurt,  Goldfish, Blue Water Cream Cheese and Pretzel Fishing Poles (dip a pretzel in the water and then go fish) and some Blue Jelly Beans and a Hug!

BTW- I want to wish my baby sister a 

very Happy Birthday today!!!

Color of the Day Lunch-Yellow

The kindergarten at our school studies colors during the 1st few weeks of school.  To help support them they ask all the kids in the school to wear the color of the day.  I make Belli's Bites each day using that color.  Today's color is yellow which is pretty easy since there are lots of wonderful yellow foods found in nature!

Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan Cheese and Pasta Sauce, Baby Corns, Yellow Tomatoes, Pineapple 

and a Yellow Starburst.

Sports Birthday Party

My best friends son just celebrated his 7th birthday. Belli wanted to help with the party by providing the cupcakes.  We are used to lots of flowers, glitter, pink and princesses in our house, so doing something for a young man's birthday made use have to switch gears.  The birthday boy loves all kinds of sports so we decided to make some sports ball cupcakes......

Chocolate Footballs and Basketballs

Vanilla Baseballs and Tennis Balls

Lots of Love Lunch

One week of 1st Grade down deserves lots of love! Heart Coconut Butter Sandwich, Grapes on Sparkly Sticks, Heart Strawberries, Raspberries with White Chocolate Chips Tucked Inside, Pomegranate Seeds and 

Some Watermelon Hearts.

Superstar 3rd Day of School Lunch

        Star Cucumber, Tomato and Baby Corn Salad, Salami with Edible Glitter Shooting Star, Star Cantaloupe, Star Bell Peppers and not pictured-A Starburst for dessert!

2nd Day of 1st Grade Lunch

 

Notebook Apple Butter Sandwich, Watermelon "Apples", Hearts of Palm, Yellow Cherry Tomatoes and Mini Marshmallows & Chocolate Chips

1st Day of 1st Grade Lunch

1st Grade Coconut Butter Sandwich, Strawberry Hearts, Apple with Star Cutout, put a Peach Star in the middle, Cucumber Hearts and Bell Pepper Stars & some Smarties!

Belli got home and said that the weirdest thing happened to her lunch! She was eating her apple and halfway through it turned into a peach! Guess the color difference was not great enough for her to see the star-made us both laugh!

1st Day of School Breakfast Table

 I wanted to do something extra special for her 1st Day of 1st Grade. I made sure to make the table extra special by making Belli a Back to School Place setting in hopes of helping to wake her up.  I served some fresh squeezed Orange Juice and Belli's Puffy Apple Pancake.

Snow in Texas-January 2007

Belli's Puffy Apple Pancake

 (adapted from William's Sonoma)

A great breakfast treat! I let mommy help out with the loud and hot stuff. I enjoy cutting the apple, stirring, tasting and adding lots of powdered sugar like my Babu likes to do!

 Ingredients:
· 1 apple
· 4 T granulated sugar
· 1/2 t ground cinnamon
· 1/4 t ground cloves
· 1/4 t nutmeg
· 1/8 t ground ginger
· 3 eggs, at room temperature
· 1 C milk, at room temperature
· 3/4 C all-purpose flour
· 3/4 t vanilla
· 2 T powdered sugar
Directions: 

Before You Start 

Have an adult preheat oven to 400° and Grease 9-inch dish with butter.

Prepare the Apple

1. Have an adult peel the apple, then cut into quarters and core.

2. Using a table knife (a plastic on works well) and help from adult, cut apple into small chunks. 

Make the Apple Pie Filling

1. With help from an adult, put in a small bowl and stir together 2 T sugar, 1/4 t cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. 

2. Add the apple chunks and stir until all pieces are covered with sugar mixture. 

3. Pour chunks into pie pan and spread out evenly with hands.

4. Have adult place in oven for 5 minutes. 

Make the Batter 

1. Help adult put remaining 2 T sugar, remaining 1/4 t cinnamon, eggs, milk, flour and vanilla in a blender.*Leave the room if the noise bothers you. 

2. Have the adult, blend mixture on medium speed until well-blended and frothy, about 1 minute. 

Bake the Pancake

1. When apples are done baking, have adult pull out the oven rack and pour the batter evenly over the apples, slide rack back in and close the oven door. Turn on oven light so you can watch pancake puff.

2. Bake pancake until puffed and brown, about 25 minutes. Have adult carefully remove dish from oven and place on cooling rack. Place on serving plates and sprinkle pancake with powdered sugar.

  

Back to School Gifts

Back to School came sooo quickly! Where on earth did our summer go?  We like to make special gifts each year for our upcoming teacher, our previous teachers and also all of the support staff that make things flow so smoothly at the school.  Belli and I search and find the perfect things for everyone!  Here is what we did this year........

For her new 1st grade Teacher-a Crayon initial

Gift for Last Year's Teacher-A Cup Full of Hugs and Kisses! Belli adores her!!!

Gifts for all Belli's Classmates

Bookmark and Pick Me Up Mint for all the Wonderful Support Staff

Labels for Your Lunch Stuff

Want 15% off of your order? Follow the link below and enter discount code:
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labels and tags are made of high-performance, scuff-proof materials and 

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Flower Power

Flower Shaped Salami with a Cheese Center, Spinach Leaf Salad, Mini Mandarins, Watermelon and Snow Pea Tulips, Bunny Crackers and Daisy Cookies and some Dried Cranberries and Mini Chocolate Chips

Beach Lunch

Stir Fried Rice Sea Turtle, Salmon Sashimi with Soy Sauce, Mandarin Orange Jelly Fish, Shark Watermelon 

and Fish Cookies.

Tie Dye Waffles

I don't have to make school lunches everyday, but Belli and I are continuing to make our food fun! Thanks to Aunt Jennie for the idea for the tie-dye waffles!! Just separate your favorite batter into some bowls and add some food coloring.  Add dollops of color directly onto the waffle iron and 

Voila-Tie Dye Waffles!

Summer Picnic Lunch in the Living Room

It is super hot right now in Texas but Belli wanted to have a picnic, we did not want to deal with the bugs, the heat  or our crunchy dead grass so we had a picnic in the a/c!

Homemade Bagel Pizza, Bell Pepper, Orange, Pistacios, 

and some All Natural Fruit Chews

Deep in the Heart of Texas....

Red Bell Pepper Stars, White Jicama Stars, Texas Coconut Butter Sandwich, Blueberries and Red Raspberries and Red Jelly Beans for dessert!