One of my favorite things to do with my kids is to read books with them before bed. The really cool thing is that my daughter is old enough to get into some of the books that my dad and I read together. One of our favorite series to read right now is The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. You may be remember my "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe Lunch" from awhile back. This weekend we finished The Magician's Nephew so it was obviously time to make another lunch from the series. This book is the prequel to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and it describes the creation of Narnia.

In this lunch you see one of the main characters, a pegasus horse, named Fledge. There is also the apple tree with the magic silver apples. In the side dishes are dried apples (for the apple tree), Teddy Grahams, and Annies Organic Rabbit Crackers. In the book you find Aslan creating all the Narnian animals so this was an easy decision. Lastly, I had to put in the famous green and gold rings made of cucumbers and yellow sweet pepper. 

I made this lunch in an Easy Lunch Boxes container. Remember to follow me on all my social media channels including Pinterest and Instagram! The buttons are towards the top corner of my site. Have a great week!

Ingredients

Whole wheat bread
White cheese
Turkey (or other lunch meat)
Honey
Silver ball sprinkles
Fresh spinach
Dried apples
Teddy Grahams
Annie's Organic Rabbit Crackers
Cucumber slices
Yellow sweet pepper slices

Directions

1. Cut tree shape out of the heel of whole wheat bread. Place turkey slice in the main container, spinach leaves on top, and tree on top of that.

2. Cut horse shape out of bread and another out of white cheese. Use cheese scraps to cut out two wings. 

3. Place bread horse on top of tree. Secure with a toothpick if desired. Slide one wing under bread horse and place the cheese horse on top of bread horse. Place second wing on top of cheese horse to finish pegasus. The cheese should stick together in the refrigerator.

4. Dip toothpick in honey and make little dot for each silver sprinkle. It sounds for detailed than it actually is. You can also use the toothpick to easily pick up each silver ball and place on the honey dot. The honey will glue the ball to the bread. The whole process only takes a minute. 

5. In one side dish place yellow sweet pepper slices and cucumber slices with the middle cut out to form the magic rings.

6. In second side dish arrange dried apples, Teddy Grahams, and rabbit crackers. 

#lbdbento

Why I Quit Making Fun Lunches For My Kids

I’m thick headed sometimes but I finally get it. It’s clear as day. All of the faceless internet trolls, who have never met my family, are making sense now. They have been trying to speak wisdom into my life for the last two years and I haven't been willing to listen. I have now decided to quit making fun bento lunches for my kids forever...or at least until next Monday. Here are five of the actual comments made about my blog that have helped me to reevaluate my life: 

1. Aint nobody got time for that!
I finally see this now. How have I been finding time to make lasting memories with my kids when there is so much other quality stuff to do on the internet? I mean, all of those cat videos on Facebook aren't going to watch themselves. Maybe I can finally spend hours a day searching for other parents doing awesome things on the internet and help them see reality also. Thank you for the help Facebook life coaches, I salute you.

2. You must be a stay-at-home dad.
Actually I'm not, but I should probably become one. According to these wise commenters all a stay-at-home parent does is fight boredom and try to think of things to fill up their schedule. There are no stay-at-home moms or dads that have to get up early, work around the house, take children to school, help with homework, or become exhausted from the long hours. According to the enlightened internet trolls it seems like all these parents do is sit around watching TV and looking for social media to comment on. Sounds amazing, maybe I should try it.

3. There is no way all that food looks like that after your kid takes it to school.

First, thanks for going to my kid’s school and watching them eat lunch to update me on how it looked. That’s not creepy at all. Second, I guess science has proven food has no friction and therefore it is physically impossible for bread and cheese to stay together. We can split the atom, but can't make peanut butter stick to apples. I promise I will never again rebel against these scientific food laws that these school lunch sages have apparently been studying.

4. Shouldn't you be doing more important things with your kids?
This one really hit me hard. I write about parenting so I should know about priorities. I make these lunches once a week, on Sunday nights, after my kids go to bed. I mean, there’s so much I can do with my children at that time of day. The possibilities are endless. I can go in their rooms and watch them sleep or even wait outside their doors for them to wake up in the morning. Here’s to you internet trolls for helping me to get my parenting priorities back in order.

5. If PB&J on white bread and a Twinkie in a brown paper bag were good enough for me as a kid, it’s good enough for my children.
This type of solid reasoning might be the one that finally helped me to change my thinking. Why let the nutritional discoveries we have made in the last 30 years change our mindset on kids’ school lunches? It’s not like we live in an obese society or anything. In fact, this reasoning should help us finally get back to the good old days of believing the earth is flat, using leeches to cure diseases, and not using seatbelts. Let’s throw out those cell phones too because any societal advances after 1980 certainly can't be trusted. If white bread and Twinkies were good enough for us growing up, dang it, they're good enough for everyone!

I hope I've convinced you never to make lunchtime fun for your kids or even to try and do special things for them. These internet gurus are obviously speaking rock solid truth that cannot be argued with. If strangers on the internet don't know what’s best for our family then who does? So I pledge to give up this ridiculous hobby forever. On second thought, maybe I will just keep making fun lunches for my kids, tell my children that I love them, and pass on ideas to help you do the same.

#Fatherhood

Paper Doll Lunch

This weekend I was all out of inspiration and time. It happens to everyone, right? We had my nephew's birthday party to go to, there was work, and I put everything off. Sometimes we have to make do with what we have. I always say it's not about making the most complicated lunch, it's about putting in a little extra effort to let our kids know that we love them. This is one of those lunches. 

My daughter loves paper dolls so my wife came up with this idea. There's nothing wrong with letting your kids play with their food every once in a while. I'm not going to bother with a full recipe because this is more of a "self assemble" lunch. It is made in an Easy Lunch Boxes container with a Lunchbox Love note. Plus I used Driscoll's strawberries for the strawberry purse. They are our favorites and my kids suck them down. 

I included whole wheat bread for the paper doll, string cheese and all natural fruit leather for hair (not pictured), cheddar cheese for the dress, lunch meat for the shirt, red sweet pepper pants, strawberry purse, dried mango and grapes for shoes. That is it, super simple! Have a great week and remember to follow me on all my social media channels!

Disclosure: Driscoll's berries sent me coupons for free berries. I received no compensation and the opinions expressed are my own. Seriously though, they have some awesome fruit!
#lbdbento

Faux Sushi Bento Lunch

My daughter loves sushi. Seriously, if we went to sushi as much as she would like, I would need a third job just to pay for her raw fish bills. She will try all of it if we let her. The last time we went out to one of those sushi boat places, where all the food floats by, she was in fish heaven. Do you think she'd be happy with a kid's meal? Heck no! She wanted everything that the adults were eating. She left with her plate and my wallet empty. It's a blessing and a curse to have a daughter who will try almost anything.

Because of her pescatarian love, I thought it would be fun to make her something different for lunch today. I obviously wasn't going to spend the time or money to make her an actual sushi lunch. Can you imagine what the seafood would look and taste like at lunch time? I don't even want to think about it. So here is my Faux Sushi Bento Lunch. Everything is made to be a replica of a sushi meal but much more school and wallet friendly.

I made the lunch in a Planetbox lunch container and also threw in a Lunchbox Love note. They make awesome riddles and jokes to put in your kids' lunches. Also, please remember to follow me on all my social media channels. The buttons are on the upper right hand side.

I received some of my inspiration for this lunch from my genius friends over at Chaos and Confections, One Crafty Thing, and Zoe's Lunchbox.

Ingredients

Whole wheat bread
Peanut Butter or Nut Free Wow Butter
Strawberry Jam
Avocado
Rice cracker rolls
Dried papaya spears
Sweet pepper
Fruit roll
Carrot shavings
Snap peas
All Natural Baked Chicken Nuggets

Directions

1. To make the PB&J sushi rolls I used Dave's Killer Bread. They sent me a few organic loaves to try out and I have to say I am very impressed! You can see detailed instructions for this part in a previous lunch I made HERE.

2. In the side dishes I used snap peas for edamame and all natural chicken nuggets for tempura. These are from Earth's Best, use no antibiotics, have whole grain breading, and 70% less fat than the leading brand.

3. For the ginger and wasabi I substituted carrot shavings and avocado. They seemed like a natural fit.

4. The nigiri pieces look hard but were very easy. I sliced rice cracker rolls in half. I then cut dried papaya spears and yellow sweet pepper and placed them on top. The finishing touch was to use a few small strips of fruit roll (fruit roll up, fruit leather, etc.) and wrap them around each piece to substitute for seaweed. Try and find the healthiest fruit roll you can, but no matter what it will be the treat for dessert.

5. Also organize everything nicely. An authentic sushi bento box is as awesome to look at as it is to eat!

Disclosure: Dave's Killer Bread sent me their product to try out. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed are my own.
#lbdbento

Mind Blowing Mushroom & Pesto Pizza and Win $500 for #Shroomtember!

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad, LLC for the #ShroomTember promotion. Sponsored by The Mushroom Council, the #ShroomTember promotion gives anybody the chance to win a $500 Visa gift card.

There's one type of pizza that always calls to me, no matter what pizza place I go to. Unfortunately, many places don't make a good pesto and mushroom pizza. I got hooked on it in high school. There was a small hole in the wall place near where I grew up. It was a college town so this place was open late. Every Friday night my friends and I would make the trek to our favorite place to get the heavenly slice of pie. I would always order a piece of pesto and mushroom pizza. My night would not be complete without it. Years later I still remember the melting cheese, tender sauteed mushrooms, and pesto with just a hint of garlic and basil.

The hole in the wall pizza parlor is gone now but my craving for this pie is not. This month is #ShroomTember and in our house and we celebrated by creating our own mouth watering pesto pizza made perfect by topping it with mushrooms. The great thing about this recipe is it takes less than 30 minutes to make! It's the perfect midweek meal for busy families. My family (including my kids) couldn't get enough of it.

I love using mushrooms in recipes because they are so versatile. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a meat loving carnivore. However, with using an assorted variety of mushrooms on this pizza I didn't miss the meat. The mushrooms I used are filling and satisfying, not to mention healthy! According to the Mushroom Council, shrooms are low in sodium, gluten free, and when substituted for ground beef can help save tons of calories and extra pounds each year. You can even blend mushrooms with a portion of your favorite ground meat to make your dish healthier and you don't even have to give up your meat entirely. This is great news for meat lovers like me.

The Mushroom Council and LifeofDad.com are actually going the extra step to help families and by offering a contest this month for anyone to enter. Just follow the link below because they are giving away $500 each week to the best mushroom recipe. Just don't make anything better than my pizza, because I want to win this week!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR MUSHROOM RECIPE AND WIN $500!

To make my Mind Blowing Mushroom and Pesto pizza recipe, just follow along below and be prepared to fall in love. Remember this pizza takes less than 30 minutes to make so everyone has time for this.

Also check out #ShroomTember on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to see even more mushroom inspiration. When you are on those social media channels make sure and follow Lunchbox Dad, Life of Dad, and The Mushroom Council as well.

Ingredients

Assorted mushrooms (Portobello, Shitake, etc.)

1/3 cup pizza sauce

2/3 cup cheese

1 ready made pizza crust

1 TBSP crushed garlic spread

Artichoke hearts

Sun dried tomatoes

Pesto sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to temperature recommended on the directions for your ready made pizza crust. We used a thin crust because it tasted better with the ingredients, took less time to cook, and is a little healthier. If you prefer regular pan style crust it will work just as well.

2. While your oven is heating up, slice your mushrooms and brown them in a pan on the stovetop. You could saute them in butter or white wine but we like just throwing them in the pan to brown. Stir regularly for about 5 minutes.

3. Smear a small amount of garlic spread on the crust. A little goes a long way!

4. Spread pizza sauce on crust and then distribute cheese on top of that. Place the cooked mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes on top. The great thing about making your own pizza is that you can put as many toppings on it as you want! We like to make sure every topping can be tasted in most every bite so use the mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes liberally!

5. Cook pizza according to directions on crust packaging. Let cool for 2-3 minutes and spoon pesto sauce on top. Don't use too much but make sure every piece will a some on it.

6. Serve, enjoy, and be prepared for your family to sing your praises. The only issue you will have is figuring out what to do with all of your extra time you have because of making this quick and easy recipe!
#lbdbento

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Lunch and HUGE Giveaway!

One of my favorite cartoons from the 80's was definitely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I also had a ton of the toys. My favorite was actually Donatello because I loved his smarts and his bow staff he used as a weapon. My kids are now starting to catch Ninja Turtle fever so I decided it was time for a lunch!

Plus, Designer Daddy (who also does Super Lunch Notes) partnered with me for the lunch and an amazing giveaway. He drew four awesome TMNT lunch notes to go with this lunch. You can check out his talent on designerdaddy.com and on Instagram HERE. 

If you enter our huge TMNT Power Lunch Back-to-School Giveaway you can win a $50 gift card to Toys-R-Us, 4 Designer Daddy hand-drawn TMNT lunch notes, a TMNT action figure, an Eco Lunchbox Solo Cube, and Sharpies and Post-It Notes to make your own lunch notes! Just use the Rafflecopter widget below. You don't want to miss this prize pack!

Here are the directions for my TMNT lunch. It really is pretty simple, plus my kids love the mini whole wheat pizzas. I made it in an Easy Lunch Boxes container with a Funkins reusable napkin as the background.

Ingredients

Red Grapes
Toothpicks
Whole wheat mini pita pockets
Shredded cheese
Pepperoni
Green apple
Orange
Pretzel sticks
Edible modeling dough
Cooked pasta (or other background)
Black and blue food coloring
Orange sweet pepper (or orange peel)

Directions

1. Cut apple in half and slice wedge from one half. Cut matching sized wedge out of orange. Put orange wedge inside apple where you cut the apple wedge from. Make shallow cuts for the eyes and mouth and peel off apple and orange skin. Use a little blue food coloring on the orange peel for his eyes.

2. Cut second piece from orange and trip to shape of mask "tail." Also rub orange juice on apple to prevent browning.

3. In main dish place head and mask "tail." Pack pasta around turtle so it doesn't move. Break pretzel sticks in half and mold modeling dough around each piece as shown for Michelangelo's nunchucks. Mold ninja star for an added effect. Place nunchucks and ninja star in main dish. You can also write "Cowabunga" on black food coloring on sweet pepper or orange peel. This is his catch phrase.

4. In side dish place grapes. For a few of the grapes push toothpick pieces though for eyes and put them on top of the pile. These reminded me of the original footsoldiers from the 80's cartoon. 

5. Cut mini pita pockets in half and sprinkle on cheese. Cut one piece of pepperoni in tiny pieces and place on top of cheese. Heat up in microwave for a few seconds. Once they are cool, place mini pizzas in second side dish.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#lbdbento

A Field Trip Disposable Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Ziploc® and The Huffington Post. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

Here at Lunchbox Dad, I usually talk about how great reusable lunchboxes are. We use them everyday in our house. However, there are those times when you have to make a disposable lunch. Maybe it's a school field trip or a sporting event, but for one reason or another you must have a disposable lunch. We had this happen to my family as we were taking a road trip during vacation. For this event we unfortunately had to buy a disposable box lunch for our kids. I would have given anything to have this one instead. The one we bought was not very healthy and my son hated it. We won't make that mistake again.


The fun thing about this lunch is the PB & J Sushi Rolls. It is a different take on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When your kids need a disposable lunch, they are likely on the road and need something that is finger food and bite sized. This way they don't make a big mess and don't get all sticky. Plus, with a paper bag you can draw games (like Tic-Tac-Toe) on the outside and include stickers. Just because it's a throw away container doesn't mean it has to be boring! 

The veggie bag is all about presentation. Pack the tomatoes, sweet peppers, and snap peas in tight rows in a Ziploc® Snack Bag. You want your kids to see a colorful rainbow. They will stay that way if you packed them in tight enough. If your kids enjoy another type of fruit or veggie, feel free to substitute it in.

The main component of this lunch are the PB & J Sushi rolls. My son is addicted to these! They are fairly simple to make and the best part is there is no mess because they are bite sized pieces. Just cut the crust off your slice of bread. Place the bread on a cutting board, cover with wax paper, and use a rolling pin to roll it out as flat as you possibly can. Put jam on one half and peanut butter on the other. Roll bread tightly. Use a sharp knife to cut roll into small sections.

The last part of the lunch, besides the decorations for the bag and awesome lunch note, is dessert. We didn't want to make this lunch with a ton of sugar, so we mixed a little treat cereal with popcorn. It works best with a chocolate cereal. Plus, it's fun to share your treat
on a school trip and this easy dessert is made for sharing. 

Hopefully this helps you have some ideas for a fun and convenient lunch for your kids. No matter what trip they are going on, a good lunch is essential. Don't give in to an unhealthy box you buy at the store, mine only takes a few minutes and is just as fun! 

Thanks for reading and remember to follow me on all my social media channels so you can get even more ideas like this one.

#lbdbento

Perfectly Pink Oatmeal Smoothie

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Quaker. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

For the past month, I have had a blast partnering with Quaker and their Creative Oatmeal Officer, Sam Stephens from the New York City restaurant, OatMeals to bring you some fantastic kid friendly (and simple) breakfast ideas to keep busy school mornings easy and fun for all. For my last weekly installment, I decided to switch it up a bit and offer a drinkable breakfast option! 

Pink is the new black for boys and girls, right? This pink oatmeal smoothie not only tastes great, but the oatmeal keeps your kids nice and full so they are ready to take on the school day. Not only that, but this smoothie can be conveniently poured into reusable food pouches and frozen. That makes it easy to throw in kids’ lunches or for a quick snack! See the recipe and pictures at Oatmeal Chef Sam’s blog: www.oatmealchefsam.tumblr.com

A Fruit Ant Picnic Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Ziploc® and The Huffington Post. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

My kids love making things. If you walk around our house you see drawings, and crafts everywhere. In fact, just this past weekend they made art on each others faces. They came down and my son looked like Uncle Leo from Seinfeld when Elaine draws the angry eyebrows on his face. My daughter looked like, well, we just won't go there. If you are a parent and your kids have ever gotten into makeup, you know what I'm talking about. 

Anyway, this week we decided to combine our lunches with a craft. This ant was so fun to make and all you need is a Ziploc® Snack Bag and some pipe cleaners. You can fill a reusable container with whatever picnic type food you want so I am going to focus on telling you how to make the fruit ant in this recipe.

Directions

1. Fill one corner of the Ziploc® bag with raisins or other similar dried fruit. Make sure the bag opening is folded to the bottom. Put two pieces of cereal on top of fruit for eyes. When pipe cleaner is used, it will hold eyes in place. 

2. Wrap pipe cleaner tightly around bag to seal of fruit from rest of bag. Make sure to leave extra on both ends for legs.

3. Fill next part of bag with cereal. Wrap another pipe cleaner around bag, repeating step number two. 

4. Fill last part with dried fruit. Seal bag completely and make sure top is folded under the ant. Wrap another pipe cleaner around the back for the third set of legs. Wrap one more pipe cleaner around the front to make the antenna.

5. Form pipe cleaners into leg and antenna shapes and your ant is finished!

#lbdbento

A Prehistoric Soup and Sandwich Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Ziploc® and The Huffington Post. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

Sometimes simple is best. There is nothing wrong with a little soup and sandwich combo for your kids. My daughter won't eat this everyday but it is a great special occasion lunch when you are on the run and only have a few minutes. What's the secret? I just dug out my old dinosaur cookie cutter. 

Cookie cutters are a parent's savior when you trying to make a fun lunch fast. Reusable containers work well for both the sandwich and the soup. If you have been putting off trying a fun lunch because you thought it would take too much time or be too complicated, this is the one to make. It doesn't get much easier than this! So make your kid's day and help them be the envy of their class at school. 

Remember to follow me on all my social media channels. I post different fun and funny parenting pictures, quotes, and tutorials on each. Don't miss out!

Directions

1. The dinosaur cookie cutter can be any shape. Use the cookie cutter on two pieces of bread, your child's favorite lunch meat, and cheese. Put it all together in a sandwich. 

2. Place lettuce and sandwich in a Ziploc® reusable container. If you want, use a sugar googly eye on top of the sandwich. You can "paste" it on with a dab of cream cheese. Drop yogurt covered raisins in the bottom of the container for dinosaur eggs.

3. Carve baby carrots into dinosaur bone shapes. Many kids won't touch carrots, but they will at least try one in the shape of a dinosaur bone. Arrange carrots wherever you want in the container. 

4. Pour your child's favorite soup into a reusable bowl that stays shut and is microwave safe like this Ziploc® container. Don't forget the spoon!

#lbdbento

My Unending Search For Yogurt, Lunch Notes, and a Craft Just Ended

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Ehrmann USA. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

One thing I don't talk about very often is a little special touch I put in the lunches for my daughter. It isn't complicated, takes little to no time to do, and is one of my daughter's favorite things. You want to know the secret ingredient? It's a lunch note. Bet you didn't expect me to say that. People always ask what are some ways that parents can get started making fun lunches for their kids. Lunch notes are one of the first things I say to work on because they are a simple place to begin.

One of the really fun ideas I've seen for back-to-school is from Ehrmann MIXIM yogurt. They have designed a number of different tools for parents to help with making lunches for their kids and add a little #MIXIMLove. It is called "Love in the Lunchbox." I like the title because it is what I try and show to my kids with every fun lunch that I make them. My favorite tool from MIXIM is their free printable lunch notes. You can download them right here: http://bit.ly/LoveintheLunchbox. Keep reading to see the great craft I came up with that uses these lunch notes in a creative way!

A funny thing happened after I downloaded MIXIM's "Love in the Lunchbox" tools, however. My family tested and fell in love with their Greek yogurt. I know what you're thinking, "Unicorns, leprechauns, and fat-free kid friendly Greek yogurt all belong in the same fantasy category." I swear to you this is real! The taste and the texture are what won my family over. In every container of MIXIM you get two toppings that you can mix in a little at a time or all at once. There is always a sweet fruit and a crunchy topping that go great together. The container is heart shaped and divided into three chambers to keep the toppings and yogurt separate until you are ready to mix them. The heart shape of the container (and their printable lunch notes) are what gave me the idea for the fun kid's craft you will find below.

One of my favorite flavor combos is the Strawberry and Granola, but my daughter absolutely loved the Blueberry and Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites. She had it for an afternoon snack and immediately asked for other flavors in her school lunches. There are seven different flavors ranging from Blackberry With Pomegranate and Granola (only 145 calories) to Cherry and Dark Chocolate Curls (only 160 calories). MIXIM is available now at your local grocery store. 

I can't forget one of the coolest things that Ehrmann MIXIM does. Here at Lunchbox Dad I like to help parents anyway I can and Ehrmann is helping kids and parents in a big way. They are a partner and contributor to The Children's Heart Foundation, which helps children with congenital heart defects. In fact, for every download or share of their "Love in the Lunchbox" idea tagged with #MIXIMLOVE, Ehrmann MIXIM will donate $1 to the Children's Heart Foundation (*Up to $7,500). So download their free "Love in the Lunchbox" ideas before September 30 to help out the cause! You can learn more by following Mixim on Facebook HERE or on Twitter HERE.

Here is my #MIXIMLove idea. It is so easy any parent can make it for their kids and many children can even make it to give to their friends! It's my Heart Shaped Bracelet Bead Kit made with an empty MIXIM yogurt container. The idea is that it can easily be taken to school and kids can make bracelets with their friends. Plus, every time your child sees it they can read the lunch note on top that you wrote them! Below are the directions and a graphic to pin on your Pinterest boards with step by step pictures. 

Have fun packing school lunches and showing your kids love this year. Believe me, every little special thing you do they remember and it makes a difference!

How to Make a Kid's Bead Bracelet Kit With a MIXIM Yogurt Container

1. Wash out an empty MIXIM Greek yogurt container. Print and cut out a "Love in the Lunchbox" note from http://bit.ly/LoveintheLunchbox. Choose whichever note fits your child best. Gather cardboard, transparent tape, scissors, pen, and rubber cement or a glue stick. You will also need string and beads to make the bracelets.

2. Turn cardboard over to back and place MIXIM yogurt container upside down on it. Trace around container with pen.

3. Cut traced heart out of cardboard.

4. Flip cardboard heart over and tape it to top of the yogurt container. Use two pieces of transparent tape, one on each side of the top of the heart.

5. Use two pieces of tape on the bottom of the heart. These will be the "latch."

6. Sign printed out MIXIM lunch note. Brush rubber cement on the bottom of note. You may use paste instead.

7. Place lunch note on top of cardboard heart and smooth until it is glued down. 

8. Fill with beads and string. Give to your child as a surprise in their backpack or lunchbox!

A Learning Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, in conjunction with Ziploc® and The Huffington Post. I received compensation for participating in this promotion.

Sometimes, with my four-year-old son, we try and make everyday normal situations into learning experiences. Why not do that with lunch as well? If you have younger kids in Kindergarten, or even a little older, this could be a fun lunch to make them. 

All you do is start with a normal, healthy, balanced, school lunch. You then either handwrite or type out labels for each of the foods you packed in the lunchbox. Put all the labels in a Ziploc® Snack Bag to keep them clean and include them in your child's lunch.

The idea of the game is simple. Your child learns reading and spelling by matching the labels to the food in their lunch. If you include bread, they match the whole grain slice with the label that says "bread." You might have to work with them a little on it, but I guarantee this is the tastiest learning game they will ever play!

Have fun with your kids and don't forget to take time to play and learn with them. Remember to follow me on all my social media channels. My social buttons are all on the top right hand side of this page. Have a great week!

#lbdbento