Lunchbox Treats

This week over at the Ultimate Recipe Swap, the theme is lunchbox love. At our house, it is only my son that I get to pack a lunch for (although, my little "me too" will pack a lunch some days too - she usually just packs some Goldfish and some cereal or some other combination in a Hello Kitty Bento box we have and she either eats it at breakfast or brings it home from daycare and eats it while I make dinner). I like to keep his lunch nutritious but fun - I don't want him to be one of those kids that throws out the lunch and I want him to continue to eat good.

When I pack, I generally pack a sandwich (or an occasional nearly free Lunchables), a fruit or yogurt, a crunchy item and a sweet item. The sandwiches are generally peanut butter and jelly or bologna. For fruit, it will vary between fresh fruit like grapes, apples or clementines or a fruit cup, generally applesauce, the mixed fruit with cherry or mandarin oranges. For crunchy snack, we do thing like Chex Mix, Goldfish, celery and carrots with dip, pretzels, or chips occasionally. The sweet item might be pudding, a cookie, a small piece of candy or chocolate Chex Mix.

One of my son's favorite things to pack are the small yogurt cups with the toppings. These are great when they are on sale and I have coupons, but otherwise not the cheapest lunchbox option. So, I have started making my own.

What you need:


quart of yogurt (I generally buy vanilla for use in smoothies too)
a topping - like mini M&Ms or a crumbled cookie or some granola

Fill a small container with yogurt. Then fill a baggie with the topping.


Really, rather a simple "recipe" for a treat. The first time I packed it for him, when he came home he asked if I could make that again some time. I told him of course. I like that it is cheaper than the little cups and since I am using a reusable plastic container, there is less waste.

Of course, now we have them for a snack at home too. I need to check out some post-Valentine Day sales to see if I can find some mini M&Ms to stock up for future lunches and snacks.

For more lunch box love, check out this week's Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom.