It’s as simple as a Sharpie–Draw on the bag!

art, fun, lunch, sandwiches, school lunches | February 27, 2014 | By

Sandwich Bag Art - A full beach scene drawn on 3 different sandwich ziplock baggies with a beach chair, ball, sand, buckets, etc, using a Sharpie for the kids lunches.

I know there are people who spend hours on Pinterest, pinning dozens and dozens of ideas that they hope to one day put into action. I would venture a guess that at least 99% of those pins go completely untouched later and definitely uncreated. They’re great ideas! But frankly, most of them are time consuming…and most of us don’t have hours every day to spend in the kitchen, attempting to create masterpieces instead of a 20 minute halfway healthy meal.

But I don’t think it always has to be overly complicated to have some fun. Sometimes, it can be as simple as drawing on a plastic bag or on a brown paper bag. If you have even the tiniest bit of artistic talent (unlike me), then you can doodle something quick and away the lunch goes, creating a smile later in the day with only minimal time involved.

And if you can’t draw, then you can write a funny message instead, showing your child or spouse that you were thinking of them that morning before they rushed off to school or work.

Or if you really, really shouldn’t be wielding a messy permanent marker that is bound to explode all over the kitchen….. then invest in some cute stickers instead. ;)

To see a bunch of other sandwich art sketches, check out this Flickr account. It claims he’s been drawing on his kids’ sandwich bags since 2008! Some of them are simple and others are quite clever and complex!

The 9 way ultimate PBJ (PBJHMN) sandwich

 photo 9waypbj.png

Peanut butter and jelly is really not something I mess with. I might try a new flavored jam. Or I might mix it up with crunchy versus smooth. I may even cut a mass set of sandwiches into different shapes or use the peanut butter and jelly combination in a different dish (like for PBJ cupcakes).

I don’t really stray from just peanut butter and jelly together, though. You won’t see me adding bananas. And while honey works well with peanut butter, that’s an entirely different combo entirely….and it won’t be put on my bread and eaten as if it’s an alternative to PB&J.

I do find the above a bit interesting, but I don’t have much interest in eating it….especially since it seems to me like some of the sections have way too much spread (I’d cut that Nutella layer in half!).

Having a different taste for every bite is a cool idea….9 different combinations possible!

Jam +  chunky peanut butter
Jam + Nutella
Jam + smooth peanut butter
Honey + chunky peanut butter
Honey + Nutella
Honey + smooth peanut butter
Marshmallow spread + chunky peanut butter
Marshmallow spread + Nutella
Marshmallow spread + smooth peanut butter

It’s the grey area that has me curious (disgusted?) though. What happens when you can’t get all of a particular combination into a single bite and the rest start mixing together?

What does chunky peanut butter, Nutella, honey, and jam end up tasting like? Or honey, marshmallow spread, and chunky peanut butter?

Maybe it’s amazing! Or maybe it’s an overload of sweet condiments that are better served in desserts than on bread.

Cute as a bug BLT sandwich

Bacon Lettuce and Tomato BLT sandwich open-faced with tomatoes and olives cut to look like a ladybug on top of the leaf of lettuce

This is Jill’s creation and you can find the details of her open-faced ladybug BLT sandwich on Canadian Family.

The ladybug is certainly adorable and is easy to make. I immediately saved it away to share with you guys. Now that I’m posting about it, though, I can’t help but think….

But who eats a BLT as an open-faced sandwich?? Don’t get me wrong….I’d still eat the heck out of this and it doesn’t change its cuteness factor at all. But it seems like it’d be a pain to eat.

There’s no way a fork is going to easily tear through the chewy bacon or the leaf of lettuce on top. Adding another slice of bread would cover up the food art, but it’d make it more practical to eat.

Also, who eats olives on a BLT? I suppose Jill and her family does, but I’m betting those icing/candy eyes aren’t a normal topping for bacon, lettuce, and tomato, even in her family.

Unfortunately, the more I play with my own food, the more I hate when a food has to be changed right before eating in order to actually enjoy it, whether that’s eating the parts that don’t really mix well first (like the candy eyes on an olive) or pulling out toothpicks or having to take a knife to a sandwich that would otherwise be simple to eat in a different arrangement.

Then again, maybe I’m being a party pooper and should’ve just stuck with that “awww, isn’t it cute??” reaction I had first, hehe.