Triple Bento!

Because I know there are some of you out there who just love to see our lunch ideas, and because I want to celebrate the fun of packing three lunches, here are our second and third 'triple bento' days! (I forgot to take pics the first time... But, honestly, after a while do they all start to look the same?)

This photo is from last Wednesday - we met friends at the park for a playdate and afterwards had a picnic lunch. (By the way, afterwards is fun to type - all left handed. Go ahead, try it. afterwards. Fun, isn't it?)
It's hard to see unless you enlarge the photo, but here's the list of what I packed. By the way - I'll go clockwise from top left of each box as it is oriented in the photo.

Black Bento (top left) for Mom:
mixed fruit (oranges, strawberries, grapes, blueberries)
celery and grape tomatoes with hummus
carrots and cucumbers
crackers with cream cheese and jelly (note: I mixed them ahead of time, but the jelly got very runny - ick! It still tasted fine, but I'll do it differently next time, maybe using pinch bowls.)

Purple Bento (top right) for Miss M:
mixed fruit
carrots and grape tomatoes with hummus
cucumbers and one piece of celery (to see if she might try it - she didn't)
cracker sandwiches with soy butter

Blue Bento (bottom) for Mister J:
cucumbers and one piece of celery (to see if he might try it - he did, but didn't like it)
cracker sandwiches with soy butter
fruit salad
carrots with hummus

As you may have noticed, I pack each of the boxes just a bit differently to accommodate my kids' different tastes. You can see it even more in the pictures below when you add in my lunch. I packed these for a picnic lunch today.

Mom's lunch contained:
orange wedges, strawberries, and cherries (the kids ended up eating most of the cherries)
Craisins and chocolate chips (for dessert, enough to share)
pita wedge sandwiches - hummus, spinach, thinly-sliced cucumber
orzo pasta salad with peas, parsely, feta, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil

Mister J's lunch contained:
mixed fruit (oranges, blueberries, strawberries)
Italian dressing and croutons
salad - romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, cheese, ham

Miss M's lunch contained:
mixed fruit - same as above
1000 island dressing and croutons
salad - same as above, add tomatoes

Once Mister J got past the idea of not having all of the inner containers in his lunch box, he was way excited about having a big salad in his lunch. They both enjoyed their lunches, though Miss M (as usual) left more of the toppings on her salad than the 'leaves.' I'll definitely try salads again, since we get so many wonderful fruits and veggies from our co-op.