First Day of School Lunch!

Paid partnership with Nature’s Own. All opinions are my own.

Ok guys. I literally feel like we got out of school yesterday. HOW in the world is it already time to go back?! We had such a fun summer and I’m so sad that it’s over, but I’m also excited for all the new adventures we will have, things the girls will learn, and, if I’m being reeeeeeeeeeeeally honest, I’m kind of glad to get back into more of a routine. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I have loved being able to stay in my jammies as long as I want every day, but there’s just something about having a set routine that really jives with me.

Anyways. This is Claire’s LAST year at Montessori school before she starts KINDERGARTEN. She is getting so big and I’m so proud of how far she has come (for more on Claire’s journey, click here [link to claire’s story on a previous blog post]). For those of you who are new or need the TL/DR part: Claire was born almost a week late and had a seizure, which lead to a week-long NICU stay, which lead to early intervention services for 3 years and now an IEP. It’s been a journey but I really feel like we are on the other side and I’m so excited to see all that she will accomplish this year!

I love making every day things a little special, and I knew I wanted to make her FIRST day back at school extra special! I whipped up this easy back to school lunch for Claire using Nature’s Own Honey Wheat Bread. We LOVE Nature’s Own because there are no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup!

I made these super easy open-faced pencil sandwiches for a fun little surprise for Claire. She knows all of her letters and numbers, but at 4 years old, she’s not quite able to read just yet. But I KNOW she will recognize a pencil!

Ingredients:

Nature’s Own Honey Wheat Bread,

Cheese (I used white American),

Meat (I used ham),

Olives (I used Kalamata)

Optional: Mayonnaise, mustard, guacamole, hummus, etc.

1. Cut your bread into the shape of a pencil. I did this by cutting of the crust on all 4 sides, then cutting the bread in half. Then, cut 2 triangles off of the top of each part to create the pencil tip (for a more detailed, step-by-step video, click here for my BTS highlight on IG)
2. Top your bread with whatever toppings your child likes. I used mayonnaise for Claire, but mustard, guacamole, hummus or whatever spread your child likes would also be super tasty!
3. Cut a piece of cheese into a rectangle and place on top (this looks like the body of the pencil!)
4. Cut a smaller piece of deli meat to put on top to look like an eraser. If you are vegetarian, a tomato or meat-substitute would be tasty too!
5. Add a little piece of olive to the tip to make it look like the tip of a pencil. Voila! Pencil sandwiches!

I filled the rest of her lunchbox with watermelon, oranges, peppers and veggie dip!

To make the watermelon heart cutouts, I sliced a watermelon so it was a round disk, then used a cookie cutter to punch out the hearts.

What are you looking forward to this school year? I’d love to know in the comments below! Meanwhile, let me get to my lunch ….

(all the leftovers from pencil sandwiches and watermelon hearts LOL)