Top 13 of 2013! My Favorite Lunches of Last Year!

What better way to wrap up 2013 than with a round-up of my 13 favorite-ish posts! (I couldn't really pick just 13, so I narrowed it down by choosing one per month, plus a thirteenth Mama's Choice!)

And I'm not the only one! Check out the Top 13 from some of my favorite Bento Bloggers and Friends!

January - Rolled With Love

 

I never get tired of looking at this one, and it was even a Great American Healthy Lunch Box Challenge finalist!

February - Valentines Pancakes

I tried something new with baking pancakes, and it was a big hit! A very "heart-y" lunch just in time for Valentine's Day!

March - Spring Garden Bunny Nigiri

 

I am extremely proud of this lunch. I was able to mold whole grains (brow rice and red quinoa) into an onigiri... and a cute one at that!

April - "Bee-utiful" Spring

 

This lunch tried to thwart me at every turn, but I love how it turned out!

May the Fourth Be With You

These simple Star Wars "Vader and Son" themed lunches for May 4th were easy and fun to do.

June - Fish Food

 

I am really enjoying putting in a little extra effort to make my salads more artistic. A few carrot cut-outs and artfully arranged veggies and suddenly it's art! Delicious, delicious art!

July - Red White and Blue Salads

 

More Mama-fied fun!

August - Lalaloopsy Lunches

Fancy cookie cutters, a little dye-free taffy, and some cocoa powder and I have the cutest lunches ever!

September - MOMables Goat Cheese and Veggies Lunch

 

I've been working on improving my photography skills this past year, and put in extra effort for my photo shoots for articles for the MOMables blog. Since I already had everything out, I moved the food from the smaller bistro box for my MOMables shoot and up-sized it for the girls to share. And took some fancy photos.

October - It's A Wrap!

This Halloween-y lunch was simple to execute and I love how it turned out.

 November - Let It Snow!

Simple snowflakes, but still stunning. You don't always need to get all fancy to make a pretty lunch!

December - Eleventh Day of Christmas

My major geek-out for the year! Haha! The girls loved their "Doktah Hoo" lunches. They prefer David Tennant, but no one thumbed their noses at Matt Smith or the Dalek! Happy Wholidays!

Mama's Choice - Teacher Appreciation Lunches

It was hard picking just one extra lunch, but these nibble boxes I packed for all our teachers in May were just so pretty and fun to do. I love feeding our teachers. It gives me a chance to show off and flex my creative muscles in a more personal public forum, and also makes them feel more loved than a gift card would.

MOMables Monday - Gluten-Free Cheese-y Crackers!

 

I made these Gluten-Free Cheese Crackers for MOMables, and made them into both Cheez-It and Goldfish shapes, for lunches. Only they didn't last long enough to make it into a lunch. Seriously.

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I know they look pretty pasty white, but that's because even brown rice flour is very white. And the organic cheddar I buy is white also. Next time I'll try adding turmeric or maybe a little carrot puree for some color...

 

November 2013 Kindergarten (and Preschool!) Snacks

Dye-gluten-nut-peanut- and mostly-dairy-free snacks for Kindergarten 

(and one toddler preschool snack! Bonus!)

Monday, 11/4/13

Organic apples and grapes, Glutino pretzels

This snack is actually for E's preschool since it was my turn as Snack Parent for the co-op. We have quite the adventurous snacktime in this class, as there's E with an intolerance to gluten and lactose; another child allergic to peanuts, nuts, and eggs (it's a nut-free school, but they still have to watch out for "made in same facility as nuts" warnings;) another child allergic to strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, plus lactose intolerance. And the family eats paleo, so most of my gluten-free subs still aren't safe. Fun times!

Since the paleo child chooses to only eat fruits anyway, I made sure to bring non-berry options, and didn't worry about a grain-free "crunchy" option which would be rejected anyway. For the rest of the kids, I added Glutino pretzels. Gluten- and egg-free, plus made in a nut-free facility.

Lundberg Rice Chips,  lemon Oloves, organic strawberries

 

This was Z's Kindergarten snack while E and I were at preschool. I added a strawberry fork pick to help eat either the strawberries or the green olives in the EasyLunchboxes Mini Dipper. Or both!

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Tuesday, 11/5/13

Toasted GF lime marmalade and butter sandwiches, organic apples

 

Friday, 11/8/16

Angie's Candy Corn popcorn, organic apples

 

Tuesday, 11/19/13

Pop'd Kerns and Naturebox Ranch Peas, organic grapes

 

Z hasn't been fond of grapes lately, but she saw these ginormous ones at the farm where we get our weekly CSA share and asked me to buy them, so I tried them out on her. They still went mostly uneaten.

Wednesday, 11/20/13

Glutino Peppermint Yogurt-covered Pretzels, organic sugar snap peas

 

Thursday, 11/21/13

Naturebox Ranch Peas, Angie's Candy Corn popcorn, organic carrots

 

Friday, 11/22/13

Organic carrots, Cosmos Creations Cinnamon Crunch

 

Monday, 11/25/13

Organic sugar snap peas, Glutino pretzel chips

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Food for Thought