This is a sponsored post by Nature’s Harvest®. All opinions are my own.
It’s Back to School time again. That means school supplies, homework, schedules, morning routines and picky eaters. Well, our kid is a picky eater all the time, so back to school brings the extra trauma of figuring out if she is eating the lunch we pack or eating the “snack pack” at school. So this year we are experimenting with something a little different for school lunches. Don’t get me wrong, the old standby sandwiches will be in the rotation, but we need to add some spice into the mix. Metaphorically, she is not a fan of spicy stuff and we don’t want her screaming about “toooo spicy” during lunch at school. So we are giving toasted cups a whirl.
Let me tell you how this came about. We were standing around in the kitchen one day (well, yesterday really) looking at the disaster my daughter had created. She had all our silicone baking cups out, and filled with playdoh on a couple baking sheets; she likes to do that. We were talking about sandwich ideas, talking about different kinds of sandwiches, could we do rollups (we like to do this French toast rollup thingy for breakfast sometimes, but adapted for lunch), etc, etc. We were talking and the hubby was staring at the mess and said could we do something with the baking cups? I stared at him for a minute and said “ooh, peanut butter and jelly” and so the idea was born. We did some experimenting to see how it would go and here are the results.
First things first, we have to select the right bread and for us, that’s Nature’s Harvest® Bread. As the parent of a picky eater, we always attempt “double duty” with our food selections; think nutritious and delicious. In addition to being “yummy good” (her words), Nature’s Harvest Bread is baked with at least 8 grams of whole grains per serving and it does not contain high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors or colors. Select your favorite flavor, there are ten to choose from, and cut the bread into circles and then roll the circles kind of thin using a rolling pin. Then, press the thin circles into a silicone baking cup (or paper) in a muffin tin. Slide the tin into the oven for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees. This is important because bread being bread, it wants to be flat, and if you don’t “toast” it a bit it just kind of flattens out and makes a mess when you try to eat it. We found that out during our experiment phase. Once you have your cup, the sky is the limit when it comes to filling! Pick your little ones favorites and go wild. This is the perfect “all hands on deck” project that will get your littles in the kitchen as well.
Here are just a few of the flavor combinations that we tried:
Peanut butter and jelly
Peanut butter and raspberries
Peanut butter and strawberries
Humus and peppers
Rotisserie chick and shredded cheese (our daughter loves to just eat shredded cheese so this one was a no brainer and a great way to add protein)
Ham and cheese
Turkey and cheese
The possibilities are endless which is what makes this so much fun! Think tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts, banana, blueberries, blackberries, tuna, roast beef, and much, much more!
For packing them up, we have bento boxes on hand that are perfect but some simple plastic wrap would suffice.
To go with our toasted cups we like to pair some of our daughter’s favorites. Our quick go-to choices normally consist of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pretzels, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and/or yogurt. We also like to surprise her with a package of Entenmann’s® Little Bites™ Snacks. Her absolute favorite are the little Chocolate Chip Muffins!
For us, it is all about finding a balance between nutritious and sensible choices. Our goal is to pack a lunch that she will eat and one that we feel good about giving her. Plus, by working together, and allowing her to pick and choose what goes into her toasted cups, we are adding fun to her lunchbox. Together, Nature’s Harvest® Bread and Little Bites™ Snacks are the “Life of the Lunchbox™”!
Leave us a comment below: What is your favorite lunchbox addition to fun to your little one(s) lunch?
Get in on the back-to-school fun and enter the “Life of the Lunchbox” Giveaway for the chance to WIN a $10,000 Savings Bond!
Go to www.lifeofthelunchbox.com and enter for your chance to win.
45 comments
This is great! I have to be honest, creativity has never been a part of my lunchbox routine. My kids have pretty much always gotten sandwiches or leftovers.
That looks pretty good! It’s a cute concept that a lot of kids will love, I’m sure! And their parents will, too.
These all look awesome. I can’t wait for September to roll around so I can start making my kiddos lunches again and send the off to school. I love using the silicone molds to put snacks and such in… especially my bento style lunches!
I have not tried Natures Harvest yet but I will soon. These are some great suggestions for lunches. Thank you so much for sharing this
I can’t believe it is already back to school time! These look like a great way to make lunches for the kids lunches as well.
I love making fun little bento boxes. So fun. I can’t believe its already time for some kids to head back to school. Where does the time go?
It looks good and creative. I really love the idea. My wife should know about this
The possibility for a lunchbox ideas are endless with bento boxes. My kids love them!
This is indeed an awesome fun way to eat sandwiches for the kids. I used to make my kids the ants on a log when the had cold lunch. The Life Of The Lunchbox I am going to have to share with my niece and sister. Thanks for sharing the idea and giveaway.
I think that’s a great idea what you did with the bread. I’ll have to try that with my daughters lunches. I bet they’ll love it. I love both Nature’s Harvest Bread and Little Bites Snacks!
Those are such fun and delicious lunchbox ideas. Those would delight the little one for sure. Thanks for the ideas.
Those bites look adorable and great for little hands. Thanks for sharing. Y’all are going to make me get crafty. – Yolonda
What a fun way to change up lunch. I would have loved to have tried these when my daughter was younger.
That looks really good. I love the idea of using the wraps to make little sandwich cups.
These are all yummy lunch box ideas. My son normally got a ham and cheese sandwich with fruit and chips.
I’ve been seeing so many of these sandwich cups and they look so good! They’re a fantastic lunch idea and so creative.
How creative! I bet they will be the envy of all their friends. My daughter use to hate bringing lunch from home, she would have loved this.
I think these toast cups are really cool! There are so many fillings you could put inside each one.
These are all really cute ideas, I can’t believe we have to think about this stuff already though!
Omg how awesome are these?!?! My daughter would love it if she were to open her lunch box and find one of these cute creations!!!!
I can’t wait for the day I get to start making my son’s lunches! Little Bites makes the perfect addition to every lunch box.
That is such a cute idea. I will have to do this with my son.
I love seeing people use the silicone cups and bento ideas. I can never make it work. The lunches I send my kiddos are just too big and it doesn’t work. Maybe because they are older? I love your ideas!
These are the best idea!! My 5 year old would love them! I guess I know what I am going to be making for lunches this year. Thank you for the idea!
I think it’s all about balance as well. I try to shake up the routine a bit too so they don’t get bored.
Toast cups are a great idea. I have been looking for some new ideas for the kids lunches this year.
I love to be creative with the kids lunches. I leave them little notes and try to make funny sandwiches. I will have to try these.
We buy nature’s harvest every week! Love all your lunch ideas! So much fun!!
Back to school lunch ideas are great!! I think that I would like this kind of lunch for myself ;)
We love Nature’s Harvest bread- it’s always yummy. These are so cute and creative. I could have used these for summer break since we pack lunches for my daughter’s summer program and she prefers the cafeteria at school
OMG this looks a great idea even for my college daughter! Very creative! I cannot believe school starts so soon already! I wish it didn’t, as it means my daughter needs to head back to college snif snif
Bread really does make a difference. It cannot be too soft or too hard and it has to be something the children will want, not just something that is good for them.
This year is the first year we are sending our son to school with lunch. I’m so nervous about making him something delicious and healthy. These are some great ideas!
I did this for my son when he was in kindergarten. He never ate more than half of the meals so I stopped lol
those lunches look great! want to make mine ?! just kidding… thanks for the ideas : )
This is a great idea and it takes sandwiches to a whole new level! My kids are going to be in for a fun surprise when they get this in their lunch boxes.
This is so cool. I have to be really creative with lunch because my daughter is such a fussy eater.
Very cute and a great way to add extra veggies!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing and I will have to give these a try for sure.
This toasted cup is great for little ones to hold onto and a nice change from traditional sandwich making. As well as so many healthy filling options. Thanks
I need to pick up some reusable muffin cups. They are such a cute way to present lunch!
I consider myself a creative person, I will definitely try to make these when I have children. I hope my children are adventurous eaters as I am.
These look like they would be lots of fun for kids to take for school lunches,
This is such a good idea for little kids to eat.