This Sandwich Sushi Bento Box Lunch is four easy recipes in one! Back to school means it’s back to being busy before, during and after school. Not to mention the challenges of food allergies and special diets. Luckily you can ease the morning mayhem, and make their days a little brighter, by incorporating some simple ideas.
Notes can comfort little ones at school, but you might not always have time to write one. I love these Little Lunch Box Notes, which have cute graphics and messages.
Look for fresh, make-ahead options your kids will enjoy. The “sushi” rolls in this recipe offer fish-free fun, and because the bread is flattened in advance, you don’t have to worry about smooshed sandwiches. Plus, it’s something you can take for lunch too.
- Salads, like the ones below, made with hearty vegetables and grains are also great make ahead options. They keep better than leafy greans.
- Bento boxes make lunchtime more interesting, allowing kids to pick and choose what they eat next. It also avoids the dreaded “food touching” scenario. BentGo Kids Lunch Boxes are cute and very popular.
This Sandwich Sushi Bento Box Lunch recipe with photo was shared with us by aldi.us. You can make the entire box with fresh foods and ALDI brands. This includes SimplyNature sprouted bread and whole grains, Lunch Mate Never Any! Deli meat, Burman’s mustard, Southern Grove nuts and dried fruit, Carlini Pure oils, Stonemill salt and spices, Fusia soy sauce, and Nature’s Nectar lemon juice.
Special Diet Notes: Sandwich Sushi Bento Box Lunch
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, and peanut-free.
For a nut-free bento box lunch, substitute sunflower seeds for the almonds or omit them, and choose nut-free bread.
For a soy-free bento box lunch, omit the soy sauce but add salt, to taste. And choose soy-free bread.
- 4 slices dairy-free sprouted whole grain bread (gluten-free, if needed)
- 4 slices deli turkey or vegan deli meat alternative
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 1 mini cucumber, cut into 3x1/4-inch sticks
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 3 bunches green onions, sliced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 large head broccoli, chopped
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ cup low sugar vanilla or unsweetened plain dairy-free "Greek-style" yogurt
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 Granny Smith apple, sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- To make sandwich sushi rolls, trim crust from the bread. Roll out bread slices with a rolling pin to ⅛-inch thickness. Top with turkey, mustard, avocado and cucumber. Roll into a cylinder, wrap with plastic wrap and cut in half or into smaller rolls.
- To make quinoa salad, put the quinoa, almonds, oranges, cranberries, green onions, and olive oil in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- To make broccoli salad, put the broccoli, almonds, cranberries, soy sauce, and dairy-free yogurt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Season with pepper.
- To make cinnamon apples, toss the apples with lemon juice and cinnamon. Place in sandwich bags and seal tightly.
- Organize equal amounts of the “Sushi Rolls,” Quinoa Salad, Broccoli Salad and Cinnamon Apples in separate bento box compartments.