I get so bored with lunches. I always want to do something fun and yummy. Alas, when 12:00 rolls around I find myself staring at the pantry wondering what to cook. I just have a hard time wanting to dig out all sorts of cooking utensils knowing that I will be pulling them all out again in a couple hours to make dinner!

A while ago I heard about muffin tin lunches! It’s the most fun lunch idea ever. You grab a muffin tin and fill it with food creating a super creative lunch for your kids. Michelle from the Muffin Tin Mom.com hosts Muffin Tin Monday every week and you can add your own creative Muffin Tin to the linky.

Sometimes there are amazing themes like this week’s Seeds Plants & Flowers theme…

photo by Muffin Tin Mom

Or educational like this ABC & 123 theme…

(see it? Apples, Bananas, Carrots…the number 1, 2 oranges, 3 sided triangle tortillas…)

And I love this interactive one that Vanessa did…

Usually my muffin tin meals end up being leftovers. I fill it with last night’s spaghetti, coupled with a few pretzels and the remains of our cut up cantaloupe. Sometimes I try to find matching colors at least—the top row of red taco meat, strawberries and leftover spaghetti and the bottom row of pineapple, hummus and tortillas…it’s red and yellow, get it? Ah well, it doesn’t matter. The kids love it for the sheer novelty!

Today we had a last minute picnic outside and I grabbed whatever I could to make a decent meal. It ended up being homemade spelt biscuits, pretzels, leftover tuna pasta salad, bananas and homemade granola. I had planned to just eat out of the containers. Lydia, however, wanted to make her own version of a muffin tin meal and spread her napkin out all the way–then placed each different food in their own little squares! And yes, she ate it all up!

So, next time you’re struggling for a lunch idea, pull out that muffin tin! And tell me, how do YOU make lunch fun?