Lunchbox Solutions: Creating a Dinosaur Themed School Lunch

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As we got the girls ready for school on Friday, my husband casually announced that we were exactly one month from the start of kindergarten.  One month.  Oh my…  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  In one month, I’ll probably be crying my eyes out that my “baby” is going to big girl school.  My head swirled with all the things that need to be done – registration, physicals, clothes shopping, supply shopping.  And she’s definitely going to need a new backpack and lunchbox.

Feeling overwhelmed, I ran to the kitchen to quickly throw together a lunch for her.  Admittedly, I’m not the creative type when it comes to lunches, but as I ran around the kitchen I thought that the first day of school certainly required a special lunch.  My mind raced as I thought of a way to make her first lunch at her new school special.  We may have been a month away, but again, I’m not all that creative with lunches so it’s better that I think of these things now.  And then I found it – a brontosaurus cookie cutter that my sister gave me for Christmas a few years back.  It was perfect!

What you may not know, is that my girls love dinosaurs.  Actually, I love them too.  So while a brontosaurus sandwich cutter may be an unusual gift for some, it was perfect for me.  My sister knows me too well.  But I knew that a sandwich alone wouldn’t be enough, so as I drove Greenleigh to camp, I started thinking of ways to compliment the bronto-sandwich.

After a quick trip to Walmart, I had all the supplies that I needed to make the perfect dino-themed lunch.  Check it out:That Bronto-Sandwich is a turkey and cheese on honey wheat bread.  If she wasn’t allergic to peanut butter, I probably would have made this a PB&J, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do that.  The lush vegetation is broccoli.  I thought about adding some applesauce to the mix and make it more like a swamp, but then I thought that might get too messy.  Finally, the Ptrodactyl’s nest is composed of pretzels and greek yogurt covered raisins.  All nutritious, and things that my kids love to eat.  Okay, technically, the broccoli is a tough sell, but in this set up, she’d probably eat it.

But of course, no lunch is complete without a drink, and in my case, two drinks – Nesquik and Juicy Juice.  Both refreshing and delicious drink, perfect for school lunches.  The Nesquik is for lunchtime – since she loves chocolate milk and has to drink it first – and the Juicy Juice is for her snack.  Bonus points for being the perfect size for her lunch box and I don’t have to worry about her drinking instead of eating (which she tends to do if drink sizes are too big).   Each allows her to drink in the goodness along with her dinosaur themed lunch.  Lucky for me, both were easy to find in the drink aisle at Walmart.And because I always loved when my mom sent notes in my school lunches, I topped it off with a little “love note”.  Let’s hope they teach reading on the very first day of kindergarten, shall we?Most of all, I was surprised at how easy this lunch came together.  It took under 10 minutes, which is about average for her lunches.  And because the drinks are single serving, I didn’t have to mess with a thermos or travel cup.  I don’t think I’m going to make themed lunches everyday, but I might start doing it for special occasions!

How do you make your child’s lunches special?  Do you prepare something out of the ordinary for the first day?  If you’re thinking of making something for your child’s first day back to school, make sure to check out these recipes from Nestle!