Bistro Lunch Anyone?

I've got to get these girls eating the same lunch every day...not sure about you, but I'm pretty sure no one really wants to make two totally different lunches (or 3, or more).   They basically have the same lunch today and I based it loosely on what you might pick up in a bistro, or buy in a farmers market in France for a lovely picnic on the Eiffel Tower lawns (minus the wine, for them at least!).

They have some dry Italian salami, crackers, a babybell cheese, some little tiny pickles, orange bell pepper slices, an apple, a few cookies and organic apple juice.  For snack they each have some caramel rice cakes and a fruit leather.   I would have loved to throw in some olives, but I didn't have any! 

I packed their lunches in our easylunchbox containers, they hold tons of food! And I used flower shaped silicone liners to keep everything from touching.

Thursday's Lunch

Gigi is still not allowing me to have much fun with her lunches, it stinks.  I'm hoping that by next week she gives me free rein.  Anyhoo...today's lunch is full of low fat, high protein foods, which are great for a growing, active girl.

We filled her lunch bag with some honey ham, string cheese and whole wheat crackers, watermelon and cantaloupe, a small container of grape tomatoes, some Swedish Fish (because they were left over from her sisters lunch) and rice cakes, and a small apple.  She'll take an apple grape juice for her drink. 

The dish of almonds and dried apricots are for snack. 

 

The school requires each child to bring a water bottle each day; which I'm thankful for; and so far it's come home almost empty each day! 

First Day of 5th Grade

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: One is roots and the other wings.

 My Gigi is flying today, hope I gave her deep enough roots.  (I know it sounds like I've sent her off to college or something, but she's been with me every single day up until now!)  She is so excited, and I am so excited for her...and she looks so stinkin' cute in her uniform I'm sort of kicking myself for waiting so long to enrol them in a charter school!  Not kidding, at all. 

She really wanted a "teen age" lunch, so no cute little lunches, no cute shapes.  I'm struggling with this new identity.  When I had a theme it made it easier to create a lunch.  And she didn't really care, she just liked the surprise of what I had packed.  We have been negotiating what will be packed, in what containers and if I will be allowed to use cookie cutters.  She's tough.

She mostly won.  After all, she's the one entering a big new world, she should feel pretty good about what she's armed with.   I vetoed about 189 backpacks, almost every single pair of boots and all makeup (she gave it a good fight though).

So her little lunch has salami and cheddar cheese, crackers, snap peas and carrots.  I snuck in a cookie cutter to cut the watermelon, and threw in a plum.  She also has an oatmeal raisin granola bar and Stretch Island strawberry fruit leather.  I threw in a few Hershey's Kisses as a treat (do you think she'll understand the secret message?!)   She has to take snack as well, so we made some trail mix.  The combo she created has raw almonds, dried cherries and apricots, pretzels, whole wheat Goldfish, Honeynut Cheerios and little mini chocolate chip cookies. 

 

 

I'm going to sneak in a note, just a little one to let her know I love her, I'm proud of her, and I hope she's having so much fun and learning a lot!

 

I couldn't help myself...I snuck in a little cuteness to celebrate the start of 5th Grade.