Wednesday is our breakfast for lunch day, and muffins make such a perfect and easy breakfast for lunch.  Even though this recipe has chocolate chips, it's still healthy enough that I think it's a great lunch choice.  With whole wheat flour, plenty of fruit, and no refined sugar, it's a great balance of sweet enough for them and healthy enough for me.  I love having this kind of thing made for lunch. Paired with a little fruit and a little protein, it's an easy lunch. 

Well, this was not my original idea.  Usually on Tuesday I like to do some kind of lunchable or snack box.  But I went to make lunches last night and found myself without crackers.  I'm not sure how that happened, because I'm usually pretty on top of my inventory, but oh well. Sandwiches are always an easy backup. I got out some of my fun sandwich cutters to make them into fun shapes - so there really is never just an 'ordinary' sandwich around here.

I am constantly trying to think of new and different ways to present the same foods.  If you look at my lunches closely, you'll see that the foods are repeated a lot.  But even so, the lunch basically never looks exactly the same twice. Taking an ordinary food and just presenting it differently can make it seem like something totally new. 

This is just leftover cheese pizza.  I cut it in bite size pieces and put them on little skewers. It was quick and easy and I think makes it fun.

ou know, breakfast for lunch.  It's Wednesday of course.  I have a schedule to follow. Bagels are always a favorite, and they're easy and quick to put together. Today I just cut them a little different and stuck the pieces on a skewer. The mini bagels are a perfect size for lunches. Add a little protein and a little fruit, and I'm just about good to go. I got a big bag of the little oranges at Costco last week, they are really juicy and sweet.

I like routine, and for me that includes following a meal plan.  For lunch I just follow a schedule that helps keep me on track.  And according to that schedule, Tuesday is "lunchables" day, or what I loosely define as just a snack box - crackers and other little things to nibble one. I usually just start by filling the box with little containers, and filling the containers until I've got what I think is a balanced meal.  This week I went with a gluten free cracker, not because I had to, but because we love these crackers.  They are made by Milton's and we get them at Costco.  They are crunchy and salty - just what crackers should be. 

This is a Monday lunch, which sometimes ends up being a little of this and a little of that.  Monday is a good time to clean out the fridge a little. One child didn't eat her grilled cheese sandwich from a Saturday restaurant outing, so I cut it in pieces and stuck on skewers for two to share.  The other two were just as easy - pizza rolls pulled from the freezer.

One day a week I like to do something like a "lunchable". To me, this term has come to be a generic sort of description for a snack box with lots of little bites of things. It sort of starts with a cheese & cracker type of idea, but evolves from there.  Basically, I fill my EasyLunchboxes with these square silicone muffin cups to divide the big section into four small sections, and then I just look around and start filling.  A little protein, a little carb, a little fruit, a little veggie, and before we know it, we have a lunch.  

We had taco penne pasta for dinner last night.  This is a super easy dinner idea, if you're looking for something new.  Just cook pasta, and top it with whatever you would put on a taco: cheese, meat, sour cream, salsa, etc. 

I always cook extra pasta. It keeps well in the fridge and it freezes great.  It makes for a very quick and easy lunch or dinner.  For this lunch I just dumped in some cold pasta, and added a little protein and fruit. And yes, they will eat it cold (or room temp).

One word: Easy. Monday needs an easy lunch, and these little guys fit the bill.  If you haven't made these yet, and your people like pizza - then what are you waiting for?  Make a double batch, it takes about 5 minutes, pack some in lunch, have some for dinner, stick half in the freezer for a couple of lunches down the road. You will not regret it.  If you have them frozen, just put them straight from the freezer to the lunchbox the night before (you are packing the night before, right?).  They will thaw overnight in the fridge and be perfect at room temp for lunch.