The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.
-Dr. Seuss
You guessed it right... Bread Butter Jam Bento Box uses the bread-butter-jam sandwich as the tummy filler.
I am pretty excited about my second post on Bento lunches. This is one of Sonshine's favorite lunch box combinations - Sonshine loves sandwiches. As much as I try to stay away from sandwiches, they are here to stay as a lunch box staple. Sandwiches are a staple lunch box item, for a very good reason-bread is readily available and sandwiches are pretty easy to assemble and stay fresh till lunch time. If you are worried about the preservatives in the bread that you buy from store, you can make fresh bread at home. If you do not have time nor the convenience to make it at home, read the labels, look for breads that have very minimal preservatives.
If you want to know more about the stainless steel bento box in the picture, please read brocoli pasta bento box. In the same article you can also find the amazon link to order it. I am not in any way being compensated by planet box to publish these articles and you do not need this planet box to assemble a bento lunch. You can use any style lunch box to make it a bento box, you just need some sturdy dividers of sorts, like silicone muffin cups. I chose planet box because I am trying to get rid of the plastic containers to send lunch (just a personal choice). You can also see in the pictures how I have packed the same contents in a regular lunch box.
Food Groups
Carbs: Bread, of course. You can use wheat bread or even make fresh bread at home, if time permits, to pack in this bread butter jam bento box. Butter and jam/jelly is a good combination, which I am sure any kid would love. Trim the sides of the bread to make it neat (I trim the edges so that Sonshine does not bring back a big chunk of the bread slice and claim that "it is the edge"). I also added a few Graham Crackers to this box, to provide something crunchy to munch on.
Protein: Pack some hummus in a separate container to dip the veggie sticks in.
Fruits: Anti-oxidant rich blueberries and ripe strawberries.
Veggies: Carrot and cucumber sticks.
Treat: I chose to use "mike and ike" as a treat in this bento box. They are fruit flavored, colorful and small candies - perfect for a small treat. I always include a small treat, but I have made a pact with Sonshine. Sonshine should eat the treat only after he has a taken a few bites of everything else I have included in the lunch box. So far he has kept his promise.
Sonshine is a slow eater, he would rather do something else than eat. So he always has food left in the lunch box when he comes back from school. I ask Sonshine not to throw the leftovers in the school trash can, but just to repack all that he has not eaten and bring it home. This helps me to know how much he has eaten and helps me keep track of his nutrition needs on a daily basis.
Make Ahead
Morning madness can drive you crazy. It is always good to know the make ahead plans for the lunches - especially if you are packing more than one lunch box. For this bento box, you can make hummus on the previous day and wash and chop carrots. I prefer to chop cucumbers in the morning. You can also wash and dry the blueberries and strawberries too ahead of time. I assemble the sandwich only in the morning - it does not take too much time.
While packing lunch, follow some general guidelines like washing hands before assembling the lunch, keeping your work area clean etc. The USDA website has more instructions on how to keep the cold lunches safe. This is a very easy lunch box to assemble. You can even ask bigger kids to help you assemble it.
sathya says
awesome ideas - love it.
Framed Recipes says
Thanks Sathya. I am glad you find them useful. Planning to post useful tips and ideas. Stay tuned. :). Have a good good day.
Deepti Anand says
Excellent presentation!! Reserving all the ideas until Chinnu starts taking lunch to school 🙂
Framed Recipes says
:). Thanks Deepti. I hope she will be looking forward to these lunches when she starts taking lunch to school.