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Welcome to the second post in our Back to School Series – Project Lunchbox! This week’s theme – School Days!

With each series, we create a theme and strive to create fun and inexpensive lunches to give your child a little whimsy in their school day.

To recreate this fun school themed lunch use a basic set of Alpha Cookie Cutters  – that come in letters and numbers. You can create random letters, spell your child’s name, include their grade or a fun phrase like – Wow, Love, Kiss! I find it is easier to make the sandwich first and then cut, or you can precut two of each letter from bread, ham, cheese, and stack. You can of course use peanut butter and jelly as well. For the cheese pencil, use a black sharpie to draw the outline of the pencil. Use a red sharpie to make a general eraser shape; you probably already have these in a kitchen drawer.

Our cute little “chalk board “is simply made from chocolate graham crackers with icing piped on to form letters and numbers. Don’t run out and buy a piping bag, I just used some frosting from a partial can leftover from cupcakes. I put a spoonful in a Ziploc, cut the smallest tip off the corner and gently squeezed from behind the frosting. Alternatively, you can buy a little Wilton Icing Tube for writing at the grocery store in the baking section, near the candles and cake mixes.

For another healthy addition to your child’s lunch (and perhaps as well for afternoon snack), create a fun Tropical Salad.

Back To School Tropical Salad:

• ½ a golden mango diced
• ½ a kiwi diced
• ½ banana diced or sliced
• 2 tsp. shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. brown sugar

Mix Together. Add a 2 tsp. of lemon juice to keep from browning.

To bring a little pizzazz to your child’s lunches with minimal effort begin by designating a drawer or basket in your kitchen. Gather simple items such as a paring knife, some basic cookie cutters, and an apple corer/slicer. Pick up fun items as you go to add to the collection. As you go about your day and life, you will notice little things that can be used for fun accessories or tools when making your child’s meal!

Do not forget the FREE Back to School Lunch Printables – a sweet note is always a great addition. Find more Back to School Series including…

More Themed Lunchboxes

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Happy Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

 

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

Camping Theme Lunchbox

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Welcome to the third post in our Back to School Series – Project Lunchbox! This week’s theme – Camping Theme! With each series, we create a theme and strive to create fun and inexpensive lunches to give your child a little SPARK in their school day.

Want happy campers at lunchtime? Treat them to this cute campsite themed lunch.  They can imagine that they’re roughing it while sitting in the cafeteria.  I think your average bear (and boys and girls) would agree it’s a fun pastime, even if you’re just pretending.  I think this lunch would also be great to serve for a camping themed birthday as individual camp lunches, don’t you?

Of course ,we had to start with hot dogs on a stick, remember those days of finding the perfect straight stick to roast your dinner on?  Let’s recreate that in a fun, safe way.  Use skewers, but don’t forget to cut off the pointed end, and I use a bit of sandpaper to smooth the rough edge down a bit. Another option is using popsicle or lollipop sticks.  I “grilled” a bunch of hot dogs on my George Foreman mini grill, and froze the extra, you can cook them anyway you want, but I love the way the little grill lines look.

Next up, you can’t have wienies without the beanies can you?  As much as I don’t like canned foods, Pork N Beans have really got it down pat in the flavor department, so I cave a little.  They also go on sale and you can occasionally fine coupons so it might be something you already have on stockpile. Lastly, If you’re  gonna cook up some grub you must have a good campfire – Pretzel nuggets make great logs and sliced cheese can be cut into flames with a good pair of kitchen scissors (you might remember this pair from our Shark Week lunch!)

And finally, you wouldn’t send your scout off to school the great outdoors without a s’more to finish of their tasty meal – use 1 large marshmallow. A fun size Hershey( better yet buy a large, break off a piece for the s’more and keep the rest for your afternoon pick me up), and a whole graham cracker-broken in half for top and bottom. I heat in microwave for about 10 seconds just so it will stick together. 

I’m sure this lunch will get the stamp of approval from your backpacker. Like the little camping set? Check out one of our favorite toys, the LEGO Duplo Fishing Trip.

To bring a little pizzazz to your child’s lunches with minimal effort begin by designating a drawer or basket in your kitchen. Gather simple items such as a paring knife, some basic cookie cutters, and an apple corer/slicer. Pick up fun items as you go to add to the collection. As you go about your day and life, you will notice little things that can be used for fun accessories or tools when making your child’s meal!

Do not forget the FREE Back to School Lunch Printables – a sweet note is always a great addition. Find more Back to School Series including…

More Themed Lunchboxes

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Happy Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

 

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.

SHARK WEEK!

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Welcome to the third post in our Back to School Series – Project Lunchbox! This week’s theme – Shark Days! With each series, we create a theme and strive to create fun and inexpensive lunches to give your child a little BITE in their school day.

Just in time for Shark Week, this fun and ferocious lunchbox will have your little one squealing in delight – not fear. Check out that shark rising from the whitecaps, ready to… be eaten…. Let’s Begin.

If you don’t already have a pair of good shears dedicated to your kitchen, grab a pair. I use mine daily. I just pop them in the dishwasher between uses to keep them clean. Today I used them to cut out the Shark Pizza Quesadilla filled with cheese, pepperoni, and a bit of sauce, after all we need something red dripping from the sharks sharp teeth!

Cut a tortilla, folded over into two half ovals. Use your paring knife to shape out his sharp teeth on one side before cooking. Load with fillings of your choice. I used my toaster oven to just melt cheese and lightly toast. Alternatively, you can pop a bunch of pre-made Quesadillas onto a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and then into an oven preheated to 400° for about 5-6 minutes until cheese is just slightly melted.  Once cooled, allow to cool, place in freezer bags, label with the date and title, and place in freezer. You now have a quick alternative to PB&J to grab for your child’s lunch box.

The eyes and nostril on the shark are tiny snips of a black olive. Another option is to grab a chef maker (can be used on food and eaten.) For snacks, shark fruit snacks will carry on the theme and of course you need goldfish for shark bait. The ones above in the image are the new French Toast flavor.  And finally for crunch, popcorn is always a big hit – Munch, munch, munch. We shook ours up with a bit of Parmesan cheese for a fun alternative flavor to butter.

Recipe Idea:

To create a healthy dip for the shark bait, mix 2 Tbsp. plain Greek Yogurt with 1 tsp. of honey, and 1 drop of blue food coloring – makes a beautiful fish tank!

To bring a little pizzazz to your child’s lunches with minimal effort begin by designating a drawer or basket in your kitchen. Gather simple items such as a paring knife, some basic cookie cutters, and an apple corer/slicer. Pick up fun items as you go to add to the collection. As you go about your day and life, you will notice little things that can be used for fun accessories or tools when making your child’s meal!

Get creative! There are an ocean of ideas out there to swim in!

Do not forget the FREE Back to School Lunch Printables – a sweet note is always a great addition. Find more Back to School Series including…

More Themed Lunchboxes

1.) Introduction – Project Lunchbox – Pin It

2.) ABC School Days Theme – Pin It

3.) Shark Week Lunch Theme – Pin It

4.) Camping Theme – Pin It

5.) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Theme – Pin It

6.) Bug Lunch Theme – Pin It

7.) Happy Birthday Lunch Theme – Pin It

Also check out Back to School Deals on Frugal Coupon Living.

Note: Shark Week for 2014 Begins on the Discovery Channel August 10, 2014.

 

WHAT’S TRENDING? Looking for a few engaging activities? Grab Minute to Win it Games – Traditional, Holiday, Group, and more! Use these fun activities in the office, classroom, or at your next birthday party.