Back to School Fun-Filled Bento Box

Get the kids ready to go back to school with this Back to School Fun-Filled Bento Box. This post has been sponsored by Mott’s®, NABISCO, and ZIPLOC® brand. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We are just a few weeks away from going back to school, are your kids heading back soon? One thing that this means for me is that I’ll be back to making and packing lunches daily. It always seems like when we are heading back after summer, I’m super energized and excited to pack the lunches for the kids, then at the end of the year it takes all my energy to even put a few things in their lunch. Does that happen to you too? This year though, I’m stocking up on all sorts of ideas for great back to school bento boxes. I absolutely LOVE bento boxes for a few reasons , the biggest one is that the kids don’t have a smashed lunch!

Did you ever get to the lunch table and dump your lunch out to find a smashed lunch and crunched chips?  I remember MANY times this would happen because without fail my lunch would get smashed in my back pack or as I got older in my locker under the pile of books.  Now, since having kids I’ve discovered the wonders of a great bento box.

ZIPLOC® brand makes the perfect bento box plus smaller containers as well to hold things like dressing or even a few grapes.  These boxes make me feel like I really am triumphing over life’s chaos, because I know at lunch time, my kids will have a lunch still intact, let’s face it, that’s definitely a mom win!

Now, the next challenge, what goes into that bento box? My kids have a few items they prefer to go in every single day like Mott’s Unsweetened Applesauce Pouches. My daughter LOVES these, she requests them daily and honestly I love that she’s getting a boost of wholesome ingredients. She’s a picky eater and finding something she can eat that is in fact a good, wholesome food for her is certainly a win in my book.

Next up, I decided for this particular bento box to add a few cut outs of cheddar cheese.  I typically cut these out with a cookie cutter to mix it up each day.  Since we just got a puppy, I decided to add some bone shaped cheese to this bento box.  My kids enjoyed it too, it was a nice surprise for them.  They prefer cheese in their lunch the majority of the time so each day it’s a surprise to see which shape mom puts in their lunch for them. I paired the cheese with a few NABISCO Ritz crackers to enjoy it with.

Once I had that packed in, I added some carrot sticks. We did a garden this year and planted carrots, so I can actually pick them from my backyard, slice them and add them to the lunch with a little bit of ranch dressing. Now, the last item to add is the NABISCO Teddy Soft Bakes Soft Baked Snacks , which provides a delicious snack.

I decided to make this fun for my daughter especially as it’s her first time going to school all day long and not with me every day . She loves pipe cleaners, so I simply tied a pipe cleaner around the middle of the package and added a few googly eyes to make a little friendly monster on her snack. She thought it was amazing of course as any 4 year old would!

The last part of their lunch would be adding water, but also adding a note inside to remind them that my husband and I love them and are thinking them throughout the day.  I started doing this when my son was little and he will come home ecstatic that I left him a note in his lunch.  It’s such a simple gesture that goes a long way for kids.

I think I’m about ready for school to start and thankfully I’m building up a plethora of ideas to look to for packing lunches.  Right now, you can grab all of these items at Target, plus check out even more recipe ideas here https://www.bentoboxlunchesmadeeasy.com/.

Plus, if you love a deal, right now you can also save on Mott’s Applesauce and Apple Juice at Target.  Check out the Cartwheel app for details!  Grab this cartwheel or this one now!

I would love to know what are you packing in your child’s lunch?  Share it with us!