This post is sponsored by NABISCO and Horizon Organic, all opinions are my own.
BENTO LUNCH SANDWICH SUSHI
Lunch is one of the best parts of the day, and that is something to celebrate. Today I am sharing ideas for fun moms to make easy, delicious, balanced meals in bento form, that everyone will love. Plus ideas (and a printable) for some added fun in the form of jokes and tongue twisters!
Lunch sometimes gets the short end of the stick in the meal department, with all the fun focused on breakfast and dinner, so we are going to take back the fun by making exciting, simple, but totally delicious bento boxes using some of our favorite products from Target. Including:
- Nabisco Multipack Snack Packs
- Horizon Organic Milk
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Sandwiches
See, we are keeping it super simple.
WHY BENTO?
I had the chance to go to Japan last year, and visit a friend who had been living there for a few years. Her daughter attended a Japanese school, and she shared stories with me about the required bento lunches they would send to school. I loved seeing the creative ways they made lunches fun for their kids with the art of “bento”.
As I explored Japan, I saw that every shop and store offered items for bento lunches from food molds and stamps to cute food-picks to turn your sandwich into an animal etc. the idea was to make all of the food visually appealing and fun for the kids, but also keep it wholesome and healthy.
I loved the idea but did not want to dedicate the time to creating these masterpieces of rice, seaweed etc, so instead I learned how to create fun and cute lunches without all the extra equipment or time commitment.
The secret is to have lots of color, food they love, and a fun surprise.
With 4 kids at home, and a busy schedule, I like to keep things simple. They can have a fun bento box lunch, but instead of stamped seaweed creatures, and carefully cut out food items, we keep things exciting and fun with great food, and a little something extra, such as:
- Napkin Notes (my fave)
- Wacky Tongue Twisters
- Silly Crafts
- Thoughtful Riddles
- Jokes!
My little ones love to see what silly joke I write on their napkin each day, or what fun tongue twister they have to say. And when their lunches include fun Nabisco Snack Packs, and delicious Horizon Organic Low Fat Milk, they enjoy the food as much as the notes! All without mom having to shape rice into little panda bears! Win!
WHAT GOES IN OUR BENTO?
You can be as creative as you want, but I have found a pretty straightforward lunch works well, and keeps both me (mom) and my littles happy. So here is what we included:
- 1 Limited Edition NABISCO MINIONS Cookies Mini Pack bag
- 1 Horizon Organic Low Fat Milk box
- ½ cup of fruit of choice
- ½ cup of veggies of choice
- Ham or turkey sandwich, cut into a fun shape, in this case we went with a simple round sandwich to mimic the Minions Goggles. Or
- Sandwich Sushi: This is where you flatten your bread so it is as thin as a tortilla, then spread on your condiments, layer on your meat, lettuce, etc. And roll it up, then slice it into “sushi” rounds!
KEEPING THINGS INTERESTING
The simple extra step of cutting it into a circle or making sandwich sushi was such a fun way to make lunch even more fun for my littles.
But it is not the only way! You can add to the fun of the meal in other ways, such as with Napkin Notes, or simply use this handy Printable from NABISCO. Print it out, cut it up, and add it to the bento box for a fun lunchtime treat!
Want to write napkin note jokes like me? Here are a few of my favorites:
- What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta
- What dessert do you eat in bed? Sheet Cake
- What do you call a cheese that’s sad? Blue Cheese
- Why do watermelons have fancy weddings? Because they cantaloupe.
WANT MORE FUN IDEAS?
WANT MORE FUN IDEAS? Visit the Craft Your Lunch site for exciting ideas and crafts and pick up all your lunch products at Target!
Visit the Target Circle App to save 10% on NABISCO Multipacks from 8/10 to 9/7, 10% on Danimals Yogurt from 8/9 to 8/15, and 10% on Horizon Organic Milk Boxes from 8/9 to 9/9!
Other Lunchbox Ideas
- Kids Build Their Own Organic Lunch Routine
- Protein Gummy Bears + Lunchbox ideas
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese + Lunch Ideas
- Back To School: Lunches
- Pasta Salad Lunch Box Ideas (Nut Free)
Bento Box Lunch Sandwich Sushi
Ingredients
- 1 Limited Edition NABISCO MINIONS Cookies Mini Pack bag
- 1 Horizon Organic Low Fat Milk box
- ½ cup Fruit of choice
- ½ cup Vegetables of choice
Sandwich Sushi
- 1 slice Bread
- 1 teaspoon mayo
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard
- 1 slice Deli meat of choice
- 1 leaf green lettuce
Instructions
Minion Sandwich
- Use a round biscuit cutter (1.5 inch diameter) to cut two circles out of a slice of bread.
- Spread mayo and mustard on bread with small knife
- Add the slice of deli meat to the bread, and assemble into a sandwich.
- Assemble the rest of the lunch in a bento box.
- Optional: Add a sliced olive on top to look like the "eye"
Sandwich Sushi
- Take a piece of bread, and use a rolling pin to roll it flat, so it is about the same thickness as a tortilla.
- Spread mayo and mustard over bread with a small knife.
- Layer on a slice of deli meat, and leaf of lettuce.
- Roll bread up into a log like a roll of "sushi" and slice into rounds like little pieces of "sushi"
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!Pin to your lunch ideas board on Pinterest:
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