It’s time to share the results of our first ever Facebook School Lunch Photo Contest! I have to start by saying you guys are amazing. I loved seeing how many of you out there are putting so much love (and good food!) into your children’s lunches. And I loved how all the pictures show that anyone can do this (not just some blogger!). I really hope it encourages others who aren’t quite there yet because it’s never too late to start in my opinion. :)
So I had the super duper tough job of picking only 3 winners who will each get a brand new PlanetBox Shuffle Complete Set by the way! And just as a reminder, to be eligible to win the packed lunch had to follow our real food rules. Here are the lucky winners (in no particular order)…
The Top Three Winners!
- Dana M. Huber: “Tuesday is our local health food store produce delivery day, so our fridge is well stocked with produce and that means it’s almost all fresh fruits and veggies for lunch today. Spinach, strawberry, raisins and olive oil salad with a slice of provolone and avocado. Carrots, snap peas and cherry tomatoes, grapes, sliced apples and peanut butter. All organic produce except the “natural” peanut butter. water to drink.”
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- Monica Mckinley: “My 7th grader got a quinoa veggie salad (red bell pepper, cucumber, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans and feta with a lemon olive oil dressing) plain whole yogurt with a homemade berry sauce and almonds and sunbutter under the apple slices, for dipping.”
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- Angela F. Farhat: “My daughter is 2 1/2 and it was her first day of preschool yesterday. She took with her a boiled egg, a slice of organic cheddar cheese, organic peaches and organic cucumbers with a home made whole wheat strawberry banana mini muffin (from your recipe index).
She gobbled it up and when we asked what her favorite part of school was she said ‘lunch’ lol.”–
A Few Runner Ups…
I just thought it would be fun to share a few more of the lunches that caught my eye (although I am sorry I have no formal prizes for these). Keep up the great packing job guys!
- Myra Simpson: “Filipino Rice Noodles with broccoli slaw, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, blueberries, and dragon fruit.”
- Stephanie Walla Stevens: “This is what all 3 kids got today. Whole wheat waffle defrosted from the freezer (recipe from 100 Days of Real Food) with cream cheese and homemade canned strawberry jam (recipe from Deliciously Organic). Almonds and pistachios. Bacon (they requested it and like it nice and crispy). Nectarines, strawberries and blueberries with a little bento pick. Carrots and cucumbers (picked from our garden last night) cut up into shapes. Hooray! Have a great day everyone!”
- Liv Van Dyke: “No school today for Rosh Hashanah so I made the kids a favorite home lunch: Rainbow Muffin Tin Lunch served with mini-forks (the big thrill!).
Left to right, top to bottom:
Strawberries :: Raspberries :: Yellow Cherry Tomatoes :: Hummus :: Cheddar Cheese :: Green Beans :: Dill Pickles :: Avocado :: Blueberries :: Dried Cherries :: Roasted Cashews :: Gardenburger Pieces” - Rachel M. Coleman: “aaah! my kids and i are so excited too. owl moon bento. with: blueberries + provolone moon. purple citrus kale salad + radish stars. herbed turkey and avocado sandwich + bell pepper feet + cheese and nori eyes + carrot beak.”
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A big thank you to everyone who entered for your participation. I hope to do it again sometime soon…maybe next time I can snag some prizes for our International friends as well. :)
![eMeals Meal Plans]( "eMeals Meal Plans")
Sponsor Shoutout: eMeals Meal Planning Service
Before you go…I want to make sure everyone knows about our weekly meal plan service sponsor, eMeals. Just imagine 7 complete dinner recipes along with a corresponding shopping list sent directly to your inbox each week…for as little as 5 bucks a month! They offer dozens of different plans (we personally like their Clean Eating, Organic, and Paleo options) and are one of the few services that can tailor their plans to the size of your family. If you are already an eMeals subscriber, we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments!
holy food. i’m hungry. that owl looks awesome! and i LOVE nori! i can’t wait til my girl starts preschool! thanks for sharing!
Rainbow muffin tin was by far my favorite!! Would of been first pick for me!
I love the Rainbow Muffin tin! I do something similar at home, but never thought of using the tin to keep it all separate! Inspirational genius. I will be making this a regular home lunch from now on! :)
There is NO way that owl would make it to school and still look like an owl!!!
My daughter-in-law has been packing healthy lunches like this for over 8 years. I have NEVER seen any junk food in the boys lunches and their stainless steel containers come back empty every day.
you would think the owl would fall apart, but nope. with a cloth napkin folded over the top and the lid pressed on, my daughter and her friends reported to me after school that everything stayed in place perfectly. it’s a great little trick to keep things shifting around. :)
Wow. These all blew my mind. Fabulous job to all!
I use a mister bottle filled with lemon juice to spray my apple slices and sliced banana and it keeps them from turning brown just great. :) The kids never complain about the taste so I assume that the lemon isn’t making them too bitter.. I usually sprinkle a little cinnamon on the banana.
They may even like the lemon, my 4 year old requests lemon juice on pear slices, even when eating them freshly cut!
I’d love to know more about the container Monica Mckinley used. I bought the Ziploc ones and they are great – however on day one I broke one of the lids (though still usable) and in week two my son cracked one of the sides (not usable). Even though the Ziplocs are “economical” – going thru one every two weeks is not sustainable or friendly on my wallet.
Just saw the earlier comments on Monica Mckinley container… unfortunately, I don’t think that will work for us either :-( Not having each container self contained (keep liquids fom mixing with dry) is a downside as well as the collapsing (smushing).
The owl should have definitely won first place! Wow! That had to take a decent amount of time! Love it!
I love to see and hear that kids are eating healthy. What an inspiration to see photos and read about encouraging healthy eating!
Job well done……..
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Love the color in your spices you use. This is my favorite dish you have posted.
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