Mommy and Me Sandwich and Salad!

I don't usually pack the same foods for everyone, mostly because my girls rarely eat salad, and I'm not a huge fan of sandwiches now that we're gluten-free. Plus if I "forget" to pack a lunch, I can fill up on junk! Yay!

Mama's Lunch

Naturebox trail mix, PB-honey sandwich, organic salad
(red lettuce, spinach, carrots, sunflower and chia seeds, hemp hearts, raisins, rosemary vinaigrette)

Thursday, 9/4/14 - I made myself my usual salad, and after some success at dinner the night before getting the girls to eat salad with their favorite dressing, I decided to pack some for their lunches as well! Fair's fair, so I made myself a sandwich like them too. Except I prefer peanut butter and honey, so gave my sandwich a more-favored "dressing!"

This lunch is fairly protein-heavy with the hemp hearts and chia seeds for the salad, the peanut butter in the sandwich, and the nuts in the Naturebox trail mix (with chocolate! NOM!) Whoever said that vegetarians can't get enough protein?

Since I prefer my salad add-ons crunchy, and my salad not-soggy, I pre-packed my toppings and dressing in Mini Dippers to add them on when I was ready.

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1st-Grade Lunch

GF ham and goat cheese sandwich, HomeFree GF vanilla cookies,  organic "butter beans,"
organic salad (red lettuce, hemp hearts, dairy-free Ranch)

The Home Free cookies were a last-minute add-in, since I had put some in Little Sister's lunch to help fill space, and decided I'd better give a few to my older girl too. So I squeezed them in in a pink flower cup to keep them from getting soggy from the ham.
I packed a matryoshka fork (which is the perfect size to fit in the EasyLunchbox) to use for her salad and "butter beans." Butter beans are just steamed green beans slathered in (dairy-free) butter, or olive oil, when I'm feeling lazy. And salt, of course. Z will pretty much eat anything if I put butter and salt on it...

Toddler Lunch

Little Sis got the exact same lunch as my older one, but with just half a sandwich. She doesn't eat as much, and rarely eats her bread, so I hate wasting more on her.
She got her favorite Olaf fork to help eat her food. Both girls ate most of their salad, which made this Mama happy!

Reality Check

I've shown off my photo setup once before, to help show the reality behind many of the bright colorful photos you see online. Here's another glimpse at the secret to my "success."
I don't have a collection of pristine perfectly-stained or aged wood tables... I have vinyl backdrops and scrapbook paper. I don't have a beautiful well-lit space... I have to drag everything out onto an old cat scratching bench on the back porch for some nice indirect light. And hope it's a sunny day!

To reduce shadows, I hold a sheet of white dollar store foam board to help bounce light back. Or sometimes my lovely assistant insists upon helping helps me. Sometimes she's not the only one out there in the morning without any pants on...!

The photos you see above have all been cropped and edited and brightened and enhanced to look more appealing. So next time you snap and share a picture of your amazing lunch, don't compare yourself to us "Pinterest Moms!" Just like the gal with the perfect hair and make-up each morning, it takes time and effort to "look good" on the internet! I spend my time taking and editing pictures of our lunches... I promise, there's a reason I rarely share photos of myself! Hahahaha!

Tools of the Trade