January Dye-Free School Snacks - Weeks 2 and 3

Monday January 7 through Thursday, January 17

Monday 1/7

I packed the last Bento Bread Scrap French Toast Muffin in a Thermos Funtainer to keep it warm. 

First I boiled some water really quick in the microwave, then I put it in the Thermos for five minutes to heat up the insides. Meanwhile I re-heated the muffin, sprinkled on some powdered sugar, popped it in the toasty Thermos, and we were good to go!

Fork came from Dollar Tree. It came in a set with two forks and two spoons, plus a travel case. So her bag didn't even get dirty from the used fork! I use these a LOT!

Z stayed home sick Tuesday and Wednesday due to a super mild flu. Really, if we had to have the flu, this was definitely the one to get!

Thursday 1/10

Forgot... Think I sent a single-serve bag of something that came in one of my monthly foodie boxes... Can't remember what.

Monday 1/14

Twisted Water, Chocolate Peppermint Waffle Cookies, Baby Bell cheese, apples

I packed a Baby Bell mozzarella cheese with a star-flower cookie cutter cut-out plus some leftover McD's apple slices [no judging] in our new kitty snack bento box. 

As a special treat, I added a few Chocolate Peppermint mini dipped Waffle Cookies (from Target's Archer Farms brand - no fake colors or flavors! Bought them on clearance after the holidays!) 

Twisted Water from our January Savorfull box. This was our last box, since Savorfull is switching to a business-to-business model. So pass it along, if your workplace, school, vending machine, etc is interested in getting allergy-friendly "free-from" snacks - or if you think they SHOULD be!

Tuesday 1/15

"Guilt Chocolate" (Theo Dark Chocolate Peppermint Stick,) Smart Puffs

After Z was sick the previous Tuesday and Wednesday, Baby E got a fever Thursday through Saturday. Then a rash on Monday, so the doctor diagnosed Roseola. She said it was contagious until the rash disappeared. So instead of Baby's Little Gym class, we stayed home and took a nap... Only Mama didn't wake up until 15-minutes after Z's bus had come to drop her off! Oh noes!

So Mama packed a junkier snack than usual to try and compensate! I tossed in some Smart Puffs, from the makers of Pirate Booty. I don't care for them myself (or the Pirate Booty, for that matter,) but she thinks her "nat-choo-ral Cheetos" are the bee's knees! 

Z does not handle the unexpected well, and she's been convinced from birth that I'm gonna lose her or ditch her or not come for her. So my sad little girlie deserved some "Guilt Chocolate" from Mama!  She got two squares of my precious Theo's Chocolates holiday limited edition Dark Chocolate Peppermint Stick. These puppies are $4 per bar, and I like to saaaavor them. (They were on super sale at 2/$5 at Whole Foods. Hubby went back and bought me TWO! ♥♥♥)

Wednesday 1/16

Sweets and Beets chips, white cheddar popcorn (hiding under cheese,) cheddar and mozzarella

I had this grand idea to use some leftover cheese flowers in a silicone flower pot muffin cup to make a little potted plant and be all clever and adorable. I had both cheddar and mozzarella in two sizes of flowers using some tiny flower cookie cutters. But my jewel picks kept splitting the cheese open! I hadn't thought of just jamming them down into the cubes until after I'd given up on trying to salvage the larger broken ones. Oh well. Next time I'll try poking a hole with a toothpick first, so the wider "arrowheads" at the end of the picks don't break my cheeses!

Thursday 1/17

Cinnamon-Sugar Popcorn, Sweets and Beets chips

I put some Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn that came in our January Goodies Box in both muffin cups, and filled the rest of the sandwich box with TERRA Sweets and Beets Chips. The popcorn was surprisingly low in sugar. I was impressed! But I know that cinnamon tricks us into thinking we're tasting "sweet," so that could account for some of it.

Tools of the Trade

      

*For those of you paying attention, the Hello Kitty 2-tier bento from the collage picture isn't shown later in this post because it was actually made for Baby's lunch one day. But I accidentally put it in my photo collage, and didn't notice until it was all done, and didn't feel like re-doing it. It gets its own post later! Promise!