Easy and Fun Lunches for School!

This year I seem to be allll about the quick and easy for lunches. And apparently my ability to plan in advance has been surgically removed. So last-minute slap-it-together lunches it is!

Monday, 1/6/14 - Leftover Pizza for the Toddler

E's lunch: Dinosaur puffs, leftover GF pizza; organic grapes, tomatoes, sugar snap peas

 

The toddler got some leftover gluten-free Pizza Dippers. Domino's offers a gluten-free crust, which is a great option for when we need pizza delivered somewhere, like at a party, or when I am just feeling too lazy to do anything (I can order it via an app on my phone! Barely have to lift a finger!) So I order half of it without cheese for E, since they don't have any other non-dairy options. This time I ordered it with spinach in addition to her olives, to see if she'd go for it, and to help hide the lack of cheese. For the leftovers, I sprinkled on some vegan cheese shreds and broiled for a few minutes before cutting into thinner slices for her lunchbox.

I had packed Pizza Dippers for both girls the night before, but I packed them early enough the toddler caught me taking photos and wanted to eat hers right away. She ended up just eating the fruits and veggies, so I repacked the pizza into this lunch. You can see Big Sister's lunch here.

Tuesday, 1/7/14 - PB Cracker Stackers

Z's lunch: PB pouch, GF crackers, DF Ranch, organic strawberries and sugar snap peas

 

Z enjoys putting the peanut butter on her own crackers, so it's a great quick and easy lunch solution for me when I'm stumped for ideas or in a hurry! The Ranch was left over from Z's Pizza Dipper lunch the day before; otherwise I wouldn't normally pack any just for sugar snap peas.

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E's lunch: Organic tomatoes, sugar snap peas, grapes; PB with GF crackers

 

E had seen me stringing grapes onto tinsel fringed skewers for Z's classroom snack Sunday night and had gone ape over them. Since I had already packed Monday's lunch at that point, I saved some for Tuesday's lunch for her! She also got crackers with peanut butter, but I assembled hers for her. She can't be trusted.

Wednesday, 1/8/14 - Mini Lunches

E's lunch: Organic sugar snap peas and tomatoes, GF PB sandwich bites, organic strawberries, mini Greek yogurt

 

Since I decided to pack a Chobani Bite for each girl this day, they didn't need such big lunch boxes, so I got to trot out some of the smaller ones I don't use very often. E got the Bella Butterfly snack box which I thought she'd enjoy.
She did like all the nibble-sized food, but the yogurt was a huge mistake. Chobani is very runny, and she got it all over herself. "It ah erver me Mama! WAAAAAAH!"

Z's lunch: Organic sugar snap peas, carrots, and strawberries; GF PB sandwich bites, mini Greek yogurt

 

Z looooves the Chobani Bites, since the three flavors I have bought (coffee with chocolate chip, raspberry with chocolate chip, and mint with chocolate chip) are all amazeballs. But since I can't eat them anymore, now that I know I'm intolerant to the casein in milk as well, I only buy them when they're on clearance or super sale. These were short-dated, so I tossed two in the freezer and two in their lunches!

This box was a Target exclusive from Paperchase, in their Alice in Wonderland line. It's no longer available.

Thursday, 1/9/14 - Watermelon Skewers

Z's lunch: Watermelon, GF Dark Chocolate Dreams PB sandwich, kale chips

 

I had bought some watermelon spears to incorporate into one of the snacks for Z's snack week at the private Kindergarten, but didn't end up using them. Which left a lot of watermelon for me to use up fast! My girls don't seem to like melon, so I don't get it much, even though without gluten bread and sliced cheese, there's nothing else left for me to use my cute imprint cutters on very easily. Jerks.

E's lunch: Kale chips, GF Dark Chocolate Dreams PB sandwich, watermelon

Same thing for Little Sis. Neither girl ate much watermelon, so I ended up finishing it off after school.

Tools of the Trade

      

MOMables Monday - Pizza Dippers and Chocolate-Dipped Oranges!

Monday, 1/6/14 - We had gluten-free pizza left over from my nephew's birthday party over the weekend, so I made the girls Leftover Pizza Dippers! I also made some MOMables Chocolate-Dipped Oranges at his Chocolate Dipping Party, so saved some to use in these lunches.

Lunch for my Big Dipper

Leftover GF pizza, dairy-free Ranch, organic sugar snap peas, chocolate-dipped orange slices

Z loves leftover pizza, especially when I include Ranch dressing too. (Dairy-free.)

Lunch for my Little Dipper

Organic sugar snap peas and tomatoes, chocolate-dipped orange slices, leftover GF pizza

Since Domino's doesn't have a non-dairy cheese alternative, I order E's half without cheese. This one is spinach and olives, and I added some vegan cheese shreds on top of the leftovers and broiled them for a few minutes.

Tools of the Trade

   

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips - For Lunch!

 

Tuesday, 1/14/14 - As part of their "winter" unit at Z's private Kindergarten class, the kids folded up tortillas to cut out snowflakes. The gluten-free rice tortillas I sent were terrible for this, so we had all kinds of raggedy tortilla scraps. Instead of just tossing them, I decided to turn them into cinnamon sugar tortilla chips!

Kindergarten Lunch

GF cinnamon sugar tortilla chips, Dark Chocolate Dream PB, organic carrots and peas, watermelon

 

I went a little outside the norm with these lunches, but really, the cinnamon sugar chips and sweetened chocolate peanut butter still have less sugar than a regular peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Homemade Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut or tear tortillas into whatever shape/size you want and place on lined baking sheet. Spray or brush lightly with oil. Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar, salt, or seasoned salt. Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes, until crunchy and golden. (Note: gluten-free tortillas may not brown before they're over-cooked, so check for crispiness.)

Toddler Lunch

GF cinnamon sugar tortilla chips, Dark Chocolate Dream PB; organic carrots, tomatoes, and peas, watermelon

I gave them each a small muffin cup of Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter for dipping. And protein. Yum!

Tools of the Trade

    

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Gluten-Dye-Dairy-Free Disney's "Frozen" Movie Theater Snacks

Friday, 11/29/13 - Instead of physical gifts, my mom decided to gift experiences this year. So she took my sister and I and our kids all out to see Frozen in the theater!
Since they pop the theater popcorn with a flavoring oil that contains artificial colors and preservatives, you can't get dye-free popcorn, even if you skip the "butter." So I packed the girls some "Frozen" EasyLunchboxes!

The movie was a big hit! Both girls loved it, and noticed that just like them, the older sister in the movie was blond, and the younger one was a reddish brunette.

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Snacks for "Elsa"

Salted organic popcorn, rock candy stick, GF WowButter-jelly sandwich, GF "MOMeos," organic apples

 

Since we were going to a theater, I made these nut-free with WowButter, just in case. Yes, I know that they sell nut-filled snacks there. But still. Peanut butter is much stickier and more likely to stay on surfaces when shmeared by little hands than a candy-coated peanut dropped on the floor.

The sandwich shape doesn't fit the theme I was going for, but Z saw the little Totoro cutter and wanted it over a snowflake cutter. And it's hard, but I remind myself that this is for her, after all. Not me. So a Totoro it is! I hadn't even planned on making sandwiches for their snacks until she requested one!

I'd been sitting on these dye-free ("plain") rock candy sticks for just such an occasion - a stick full of "frost crystals" for a Frozen movie snack? How perfect is that? I had enough extras I brought some for my niece and nephews too!

Snacks for "Anna"

Organic apples, GF "MOMeos," salted organic popcorn, rock candy stick, GF Wowbutter-jelly sandwich bites

I took the scraps from Big Sister's sandwich to make little nut-free PBJ sandwich bites for Little Sis too.

Both girls got a few of my precious stash of whole-grain gluten-dairy-egg-free "Oreos" from a MOMables recipe I did. Because they prefer them over the store-bought kind. Jerks.

*Please note that I don't pack my own snacks to save money by "thwarting the system." I bring what we need for our dietary restrictions. I still buy their over-priced bottled water, and sometimes Sprite or 7-Up, which, while filled with bad sugars, don't have any fake flavors or dyes.

Tools of the Trade