Suddenly, it all feels very official – the school supplies are purchased, the teacher meet and greet has taken place, and the first day outfit has been selected… School starts on Monday! We’re are as ready as we can be. Actually the only thing that we were missing for the big day was a special, creative school lunch. Because the first day of school deserves a little something special. So, with a little time to kill after the meet and greet yesterday, I decided to do a trial run of my back to school lunch. I think this might be the cutest creative school lunch yet!
I typically like my creative lunches to be easy to make and take no longer than 20 minutes to assemble, but this one probably took a bit longer because of the school bus sandwich. The ingredients are pretty simple and I had all of them on hand, but assembling it to make sure that it came out just right, did take some time. I think the second time around will definitely go faster.
To make this sandwich, start by cutting the crusts off 2 slices of wheat bread and place some turkey in the middle. Then cut a rounded edge on to one slice of a piece of cheddar cheese (I highly recommend using a pizza cutter for this step); the side of the cheese with the rounded edge will be the top of your school bus. Cut your rectangular windshield in the cheddar cheese using a knife or pizza cutter and place it on top of the slices of wheat bread with the rounded edge on the top. Cut a semicircle out of a second slice of cheddar cheese (I used the rim of a cup to do this) and place it on top of the first piece of cheddar cheese, just under the “open” windshield. From there, slice a cherry tomato in half and place them towards the top of your bus as the flashing lights, and add string cheese slices to create lights and the grill of the bus, before topping them off with raisin eyes and a green pepper slice smile. Give your bus some wheels by placing some mini OREOs under the bus.
Once you’ve completed the school bus sandwich, this lunch quickly falls into place. The apple cookie cutter
was actually something I had left over from last year’s back to school lunch, and went perfectly with the watermelon sale at my grocery store this week. I added a pretzel “stem” and sliced green grape “leaf” for a little extra color. 
Finally, I wrapped up this creative school lunch with a sweet treat blackboard rice crispy treat, decorated with black cookie frosting, pretzel sticks, and a sugar apple. I really wanted to put some white frosting letters or numbers on the blackboard, but my freehand isn’t so great, so I skipped it this time, but I highly encourage you to do it if you’re good with frosting. While I think she’s going to love this entire lunch, I’m pretty sure this is going to be her favorite part!
If you’re looking for a way to add a little fun to your child’s lunch box this school year, be sure to check out all my creative lunches! And good luck to all those going back to school this week!
