This summer has seriously flown by and, while it feels like it shouldn’t be time yet, I’m in full swing on my back-to-school prep. I’ve been ordering clothes, picking out book bags and perhaps most importantly for my 7 years old, figuring out how to make lunch and snack time fun. You see, my little guy has a tendency to be a little bit of a picky eater. He wants to take his lunch to school every day so that he’s sure he’ll like it and truthfully, there are times that I run out of fun ideas. But this year, I’m mixing things up. I’m getting creative. I’m even becoming that mom that makes lunches look like (kindergarten level) art! With a few simple items that he insists are included in his lunchbox daily, like Dannon® Danimals®, and a little outside-of-the-lunchbox thinking on my part, I’ve been able to come up with some pretty fun lunch ideas for this school year. While I am mixing things up quite a bit, I recently created a Jungle Themed Bento Box and after seeing how much my little guy loved it, I had to share how to make this easy, delicious and perhaps most importantly kid-approved lunch idea with you!
Now, it’s only fair to admit that I love these cute little bento boxes that are all the rage right now. I can separate all of my little guys food and there is a place for everything. In addition to that, they inspire me. After all, a cute lunchbox requires cute food so while I’m not the craftiest mom on the block, I have been going outside of my comfort level and coming up with some fun lunch ideas. Here recently, my 2nd grader loves all things jungle related so I figured, why not create a Jungle Themed Bento Box! With just a little prep and some simple ingredients, making this creation was actually pretty simple and it paired perfectly with the fun and sometimes silly Dannon® Danimals® smoothies that he loves to have included in his lunch each day. I keep a variety of Dannon® Danimals® smoothies and squeezables on hand in the fridge at all times because they are a good source of calcium and vitamin D, have no artificial flavors, boast a delicious taste that kids like mine adore and best of all, are easy to find at my local Walmart by going in store or using the super easy and convenient Walmart Online Grocery Pickup! On my recent visit, I stocked up on Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies Strawberry Explosion/Banana Split Drink as well as Dannon® Danimals® Squeezables Strawberry Explosion Lowfat Yogurt so that I would have plenty of options to fill his lunchbox (and his belly).
After taking a closer look at the packaging and seeing him get so excited about the monkeys on the front, I decided I’d create a whole bento box lunch around the theme that’s right there on front of the Dannon® Danimals® packaging! Since he’s crazy about the Banana Split Smoothies right now, I decided to just go with it and have a little fun! After laying out my basic ingredients, I was ready to create a fun and easy Jungle Themed Bento Box that’s just right for back to school. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial of how to make it!
What You Will Need
2 Pieces of Bread
1/2 Banana
1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup of Large Dark Chocolate Chips
1 Peach or Orange
Crackers
Lettuce
Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies Strawberry Explosion/Banana Split Drink
How to Make It
I’ll totally admit that I’ve always been intimidated by cute bento boxes but this one was so easy to make! Inspired by my son’s love for Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies Strawberry Explosion/Banana Split Drink, I quickly whipped up a peanut butter, banana and dark chocolate monkey sandwich! To start, I simply used a round cup to cut two circles out of my two pieces of bread.
Next, I cut two smaller circles out of the left over pieces of crust for the ears. To create the monkey head shape that was really all I needed!
Once I had my pieces of bread cut out, I sliced my banana onto the bottom piece of bread and the placed the top piece on.
Now, I know that usually the peanut butter goes INSIDE the sandwich but watch what I was able to do by mixing things up a little bit. After adding my peanut butter to a plastic baggie and cutting off the end, I piped on an oval for the mouth and did an outline of my monkey ears.
Next, I placed two dark chocolate chips in the place of eyes and melted the rest of the chocolate to pipe on two dots for a nose, some eyebrows and a mouth (seriously, there was so little chocolate used but my son thought it was so much fun!).
Once my face and ears were ready, my monkey sandwich was complete. I added a little lettuce underneath it just for some color (OK, and truthfully in hopes that my kiddo would eat it) and then moved on to the other containers.
I filled one container with crackers and added some carrots to the second. Then I use a food writer to draw some tiger lines onto a peach. It’s truly amazing what a difference a little camouflage can make when it comes to getting my kiddo to eat different foods. Once I had my tiger (peach) and monkey (sandwich) ready, all that was left to do was add my Dannon® Danimals® smoothie and my son’s Jungle Theme Bento Box was complete.
I loved that with just a little effort and a little inspiration from my Dannon® Danimals®, I was able to create a cute and fun lunch that my kiddo loves, complete with a Dannon® Danimals® smoothie that I can feel good about feeding him!
As soon as he saw his Jungle Themed Bento Box, he got the biggest smile on his face. It was no surprise to me that he went for his Dannon® Danimals® smoothie first.
As he ate his Jungle Themed Bento Box, I knew without a doubt that I’ll be OK when it comes to creating back-to-school lunches that he loves! I’ll simply make sure I keep my fridge stocked with Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies (be sure to keep them refrigerated!) and Dannon® Danimals® Squeezables (they are perfect for freezing and putting in your child’s lunchbox for lunches or snacks).
Are you ready to stock up on Dannon® Danimals® for back-to-school to ensure you’ve got the perfect snack for school lunches, after school, during sports or homework and more on hand? If so, now is the time to do it because right now Danimals wants to help your kids start the school year off right! For a limited time, when you buy 3 participating Danimals® products, you will receive a $10 gift card for back to school supplies on Walmart.com! Find out more about this awesome deal by clicking here.
Then head in store at Walmart or use the easy Walmart Online Grocery Pickup service to stock up on your child’s favorite flavor of Dannon® Danimals® Smoothies or Squeezables today!
Now tell me, how do you make back-to-school lunches fun for your child with help from Dannon® Danimals®?
This is such a fun lunch idea! My youngest son would be thrilled to open his lunchbox at school and find this!
This is super cute! I love how you used the peanut butter for the mouth area of the monkey. I think it would be a hit in any child’s lunchbox.
This is a perfect idea for a themed kids bento box. The sandwich is adorable and goes perfectly with the banana split smoothie.
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My son is returning to school and he is wanting to take his lunches so I can’t wait to find a Bento Lunchkit for him as it makes packing lunch so much easier and the items you packed in your sons are items my son would enjoy finding in his lunch.
This bento box is adorable! I want someone to pack me a lunch like this.
Now I want a little kid to send to school! That is super cute and I love it. I would love it for myself for lunch!
I love it! I’ve never tried making a bento box before but I’ve always enjoyed seeing how creative parents get when making lunches for their kids. I think this one’s really fun and the kids will always enjoy lunch because of this!
I have been adding the small smoothie bottles in my daughter’s lunch box for years now! My son used to take the long squeeze tubes for years. I love all the different product available to add to my kid’s lunches
That’s such an adorable lunch! I bet it rarely lasts until actual lunch time.
This is just adorable! I can’t imagine any kid that wouldn’t enjoy the surprise of opening up this lunch box.
I follow a mom on instagram who does bento boxes because they’re just too darn cute! I’ve never made one myself and although I don’t have kids it would be fun for a packed lunch to look this adorable! Thanks for the step by step!
This is one cute bento box. I have to share this with my daughter so she can do this for her twins’ school lunch.
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Definitely keeping this bento box idea for when my niece visits. The jungle themed bento box makes eating healthy fun and exciting.
This is so fun for back to school. I am definitely trying this with my kiddies!
How cute, you are so creative. I haven’t even started shopping yet and I am running out of time.
What a cute lunch box idea. I like those boxes where everything is separated like that.
So cute! I love this idea for school lunch. I’ll admit, I was intimidated too by all the fun themed lunch ideas on Pinterest. You make it look easy though!
This is super cute! I love how you used the peanut butter for the mouth area of the monkey. So Lovely Lovely Post!