I was going through some of of my old pics and I found a few bentos from last last year I had not posted. Here ya go....


This one contains some rolled up Italian meats, half an apple, carrot sticks, tortilla chips w/ hummus for dipping and some colorful Twizzlers for a treat.


This was last year's Easter basket and bento. A bunny shaped egg salad sandwich, Cheetos because we were out of carrot sticks, flower apples, jelly beans and Easter egg for a treat. I can't quite remember what was in the small container. Even after zooming in to the pic I couldn't make it out. I am sure it was good whatever it was. I wonder what the Easter Bunny is going to bring her this year...

Penelope's first day of Spring Break bento! Excited to have a break from school for a couple weeks and even more excited for a visit from the grandparents. Can't wait to show them around San Diego for the first time!

Top Tier: Blueberries, Tulip Turkey and Cheddar open faced sandwich

Bottom Tier: Tulip Hard Boiled Egg, Cuties and Easter M&M's She also had some barbecue chips not pictured.

Happy Spring Break!

This is what you get for lunch when I need to go grocery shopping...


An assortment of random things from the kitchen. Oh well, I had not complaints.

2 Hard boiled eggs and a lil' salt, Hello Kitty cucumbers, Hello Kitty jack cheese, "prinkles" as Penelope calls them, seaweed, chocolate chip cookie and a green tea hard candy. I made up for it by slipping in a coupon for an hour later bedtime and taking her out to sushi for dinner. ;)

Here is Penelope's panda bento. It is a rare pink nosed panda, probably the only one of it's kind...

Top tier: Panda made with rice, olive ears, nori face and a bologna pink nose. Chicken strips and soy sauce in the fishy container.

Bottom tier: Baby carrots, mixed greens, cherry tomato and ranch dressing.


Yep, looks just like him.

Penelope asked for a surprise lunch today so I made her this pretty bento...

Top tier: Cracked pepper and Colby jack sandwich kabobs, BBQ chips

Bottom tier: Vanilla Greek yogurt with Nerds, pichuberries and a fancy hard candy

I found the pichuberries at Vons and after a little research learned it is native to Peru and also known as "aguaymanto" or Inca berry. It has 20 times the Vitamin C than an orange and is also a powerful antioxidant. It taste like a cross between a tomato and an orange and Penelope loves them!

Today Penelope auditioned for her school talent show, she performed The Rose on piano. I thought I would send along some inspiration for lunch.

Top tier: Heart shaped mozzarella cheese, a pepperoni rose, some breadsticks.

Bottom tier: Raspberries and a heart shaped egg.

I also included some vanilla cupcake goldfish. We should find out in a few days if she made the cut, I will let you know.

Last weekend we took a trip to Petsmart to look for an aquarium to create a snail habitat for Penelope's pet snails.


Every afternoon for a week she had been collecting snails from our front yard and having snail races with them. Every morning when she would go and check on her snails they would be gone...well she always managed to find them again because they really only got a few feet away over night. You know what they say about snails... Anyway she got the bright idea to mark their shells, first with chalk, but when that didn't work she decided to label them with stickers, she even named her snails; Green Machine, Violet, Speedy, Lucky and Blue. I suggested we make a little home for them so they couldn't run slowly slide  away again. So as I was saying, last weekend we headed to Petsmart for a snail home and ended up coming home with this little guy instead.


Top tier: Cheerios and fruit gummies, sour cream & cheddar chips and oranges because Cheerio loves to snack on oranges.

Bottom tier: C for Cheerio cheese, a piggy turkey and cheese sandwich on top of some non edible grass with a few edible jelly beans thrown in it. They are supposed to resemble guinea pig poop because that's all this little guy does, eat and POOP!

Oh and a bottle of water of course cause Cheerio goes through about a bottle of water a day. Whoever said guinea pigs were a low maintenance pet were sorely mistaken. And in case you were wondering what happened to her pet snails I think they finally made it to the backyard by now.

Turkey and cheddar sandwich on a roll, veggie chips, olives, strawberry and some fancy cookies.


The rolls are Trader Joe's Half Baked Rolls, if you haven't tried these I would go pick some up. Penelope says they are the best bread ever and she wants all her sandwiches on this bread now.

It's been awhile since I posted Penelope's lunch. She has been eating hot lunch at school a lot lately, and on the days I have made her lunch, I admit I have been lacking some creativity. Here is a lunch I prepared for her earlier this week. Not to exciting but I thought the Lunchbox Love was pretty noteworthy.


Pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, pretzels, a Cutie, some green olives, a few flower and worm gummies and a healthy probiotic chocolate hidden underneath.

Top tier: Peach slices, orange segments, grilled cheddar cheese on sourdough.

Bottom tier: Veggie chips, strawberry banana skewer, blueberries

The plant is a green bean plant that Penelope planted in school. It is going strong.

We are in desperate need of some rain here! Here's to wishful thinking...


Cheddar and sour cream chips, Halo, olives, bologna and cheese sandwich, and some Easter treats. All boxed up with some Lunchbox Love.

"Believe in Yourself"

Here is Penelope's fall bento.

Top tier: Turkey and cheese pumpkin sandwich, Cheetos

Bottom tier: Oatmeal and raisin cookie, 2 Halloween chocolates and olives.


Yesterday we carved pumpkins and roasted pumpkin seeds with the grandparents.

Happy Fall! Now if only the weather would start acting like it!