Tagged: lunch

Save the Monarchs Bento Lunch

Monarch Butterfly Bento Lunch | OneCraftyThing.com

While October is full of Halloweeny goodness and fun times, part of the fall season reminds me that it’s time for the monarch butterfly migration that goes from the northern US/ Canada down to Mexico. There are overwintering areas all the way down California and one very close by my house that we love to visit. So for us orange and black isn’t just about Halloween, but it’s also about monarch migration. So today’s bento is inspired by the fact that we, as a state, need to help that migration along. Each year, if there isn’t a place for them to roost, then they can’t make their trip down south. Planting native milkweed in our garden can help, and limiting deforestation along the coast can help as well. Hope these lovely butterflies stay for a bit and make it down to their destination!

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J Sandwich cut out with stamped message. Yogurt raisins. I also used edible wafer monarch butterflies as little decorations.
Sides Black grapes and mandarins
Also included but not pictured Water and a granola bar.


Today, I used (please disable AdBlock to see what tools I used for this bento):

Goonies R Good Enough Lunch

Goonies Bento Lunch | OneCraftyThing.com

It’s Talk Like a A Pirate Day! And I LOVE pirates. And what is the best pirate movie ever made? THE GOONIES. This summer, my kiddo watched the Goonies and we’ve been singing Cyndi Lauper songs since then until… well, this morning. Today’s lunch, then, was a tribute to One Eyed Willie!

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J Sandwich. Eye patch is made with a half of an Airhead mini and non-pareils. Letters are cut out of cheddar cheese.
Sides Strawberries with “rich stuff” food picks and coconut clusters
Also included but not pictured Water and yogurt.


Today, I used (please disable AdBlock to see what tools I used for this bento):

First Day of School Owl Lunches

First Day of School Owl | OneCraftyThing.Com

First Day of School Owl | OneCraftyThing.Com
This last Wednesday was the first day that I packed lunch for two. My kiddos are growing up and two are in elementary school now! *sniff* For the first day of school, I made wise little owls 🙂 You’ll see that one is packed in an EasyLunchbox and the other in a Lunch Bot… because one kid eats like an adult and the other… like a bird!

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J Sandwich with yogurt raisins/ pistachios. I used Ritz crackers for the eyes and M&Ms for the pupils (held to the sandwich with a dab of peanut butter). One cashew for a beak. The one for the big kiddo also has half of a granola bar and extra cashews for claws.
Sides Strawberries and grapes. The flowers are made out of wafer paper; I bought these in Italy and can’t find an inexpensive alternative here in the US 🙁
Also included but not pictured Water


Today, I used (please disable AdBlock to see what tools I used for this bento):

Easter Bunny Bento

Easter Bento | OneCraftyThing.com

Ahhh the Easter bunny. I’m practically FORCED to make a bunny lunch for Easter, by the virtue of only using this cutter once a year 😉 So here it is, a different take on some frolicking bunnies and Easter eggs.

In today’s lunch:


Main 2 PB&J Sandwiches made with an inexpensive cutter I got from the Dollar Spot at Target
Sides A mandarin with a rabbit head cut out (I used a knife and eyed it although if you are unsure of your rabbit head, score it with the knife first before you cut); protein nut mix with Jelly Belly jelly beans
Also included but not pictured Yogurt, a banana, and water


Today, I used:

Simple and Fast Valentine

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Valentine’s day is a “required” day for bentos at my house… hearts and love is always appreciated at lunch. However, pressed for time, I was having a bit of a hard time getting a lunch together this morning. Finally, a very quick, quite simple Valentine lunch was the answer and this all took 7 minutes. We even got to school on time.

In today’s lunch:


Main PB&J triple stacked heart sandwich. I used a heart-inside-a-heart cookie cutter to shape it. Since it produced a small sandwich, I made it triple stacked. Also, because I had some extra bread left, I cut another set of sandwiches (half of the heart) and made it look like there were two hearts with one in front of the other. Inside the box, craisins with yogurt covered raisins.
Sides A mandarin with a heart and large globe grapes
Also included but not pictured Yogurt and water


Today, I used:

Football Bento

Football Bento | OneCraftyThing.com

One Crafty Thing… if you’ve ever wondered what the name was about, it’s about doing one thing, just one crafty thing whenever you get the time. I’ve been out of time lately, so the bentos have been few and far between (the lunches are being prepared, just “plain” lunches though — sandwiches that look like… well, sandwiches). But lately I’ve been getting more inspired. It’s Superbowl season and it’s here in my hometown this year, so it’s been EVERYWHERE! So after being bombarded with football everything for weeks, I suddenly had the bright idea to make a football bento (admittedly, it’s like thinking up a Mickey Mouse lunch in Disneyland, so sue me!) Anyhow, I made this for my youngest kiddo (preschool kiddo!) and he loved it.

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J football cut with a simple circle cutter and using crust for laces
Sides Almonds painted to look like footballs and mandarins with football post food picks
Also included but not pictured Cheese stick and water


Today, I used:

A Charlie Brown Lunch

A Charlie Brown Bento Lunch

First day of back to school after the winter break makes just *needs* a cheering up back to school lunch. After two weeks of vacation where we were really sick, we spent the last day of winter break watching the Peanuts movie, so I figured a simple Charlie Brown lunch was a good bet for some smiles. I’ll be honest, I’m going on my almost fifth year of making bentos and although it’s lots of fun for both me and the kiddos, the mornings are increasingly chaotic to be making bentos. So simple is the way to go!

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J cut with a cutter (then trimmed to look bald) and drawn on with black food coloring
Sides Green grapes and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Also included but not pictured Yogurt and water


Today, I used:

Peace on Earth Bento Lunch

Peace on Earth Bento Lunch | OneCraftyThing.com

After a bit of a bento hiatus, I was ready to get back (right before vacation!) and I was trying to decide what cute cartoon character I was going to do… maybe the Good Dinosaur, maybe a Peanuts theme, or something else. After being uninspired by any cartoon character, I thought about what I wanted for my kiddo for Christmas. And what I really  wanted was peace on earth. No more mass shootings. No more violence toward any religious group. No more more hating refugees because they want a safe place to live. I just wanted peace. And so, today my wish is peace for everyone, anyone.

In today’s lunch:


Main  PB&J triple stack with a heart cut out and a dove flying in the middle. The leaf is a sprinkle.
Sides Green and red grapes with the word “PEACE” cut out in bread. Also, strawberries.
Also included but not pictured Yogurt and water


Today, I used:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Bento

Harry Potter Bento Lunch | OneCraftyThing.com

We’ve finally caught up to the masses and have started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (I tried when the kiddo was younger but she wasn’t into it). Now my kiddo LOVES it, especially since I’ve been reading it out loud in bad, fake British accents. Anyhow, been dying to celebrate my love for Harry Potter for ages now, and now that it has the context of being a book she knows, my kiddo is in love with her lunch today.

In this lunch:


Main PB&J Harry made with a breadhead sandwich cutter/sealer with glasses, face features, and scar all outlined with a little bit of food dye.
Sides A green grape snitch on trail mix and raspberries with a crust-made Sorting Hat. I tried to keep this in Gryffindor colors, too.
Also included but not pictured Yogurt and a bottle of water


Today, I used:

Oldies but Goodies Halloween Bento Lunch

Halloween Oldies but Goodies Bento | OneCraftyThing.com

Now that I’ve been doing bentos for quite a few years now, I find that holidays become a little harder to make bentos — I’ve done lots and lots of different themes and honestly, I start to run out of ideas! So today, I decided to go back to the Oldies but Goodies… ghosts, pumpkins, spiders, they’re all perfect for today’s bento. Plus I found this awesome butternut squash ravioli at Costco which looks adorable as a pumpkin.

In today’s lunch:


Main  Butternut squash ravioli with sprinkles for the face (two circles and a bat sprinkle) and a piece of grape stem for the stem. It has butter sauce at the bottom of the container.
Sides Green grapes covered with marshmallow spiderwebs (melted for 10 seconds in the microwave and pulled apart over the grapes. Black grapes held together with a toothpick for a spider (with candy laces for legs). On the left compartment, the spider “egg sack” is fresh little mozzarella packages. Also, ghost and bat chips.
Also included but not pictured Yogurt and water


Today, I used: