List of T Foods

On Monday, I posted my Letter T Bento. Below is a thorough list of T foods, so that you can create your own T Lunch!

Breads/Grains:
Toast
Tortellini
Tortilla
Tortilla chips

Dairy:
Tallegio cheese (stinky smell, mellow taste)
Tillamook cheese
Toscana cheese (semi-hard, slightly sharp flavor) - one of my FAVS!

Desserts:
Taffy
Tapioca pudding
Tart
Tiramsu
Toblerone
Toffee
Tootsie roll
Trifle
Truffles
Twix candy bar

Fruits:
Tamarind
Tangelo
Tangerine
Tomato
Thimbleberry (similar to a raspberry)

Meats/Protein:
Tilapia
Tofu
Trout
Tuna
Turkey

Vegetables:
Taro veggie chips
Tempura vegetables
Tomatillo
Turnip greens
Turnips
Truffles (mushrooms)

Combos:
Tabboleuh
Taco
Tamale
Tostada
Teriyaki

List of S Foods

You can create your own S Alphabento similar to the one I posted on Monday. Simply take an item from each category, artfully place them in a to-go container, and there you have it - your very own S Alphabento lunch!

Breads/Grains:
Saltines
Scone
Sourdough
Spaghetti
Stoned Wheat crackers
Sun Chips

Dairy:
String cheese
Swiss cheese

Desserts:
Skittles
Shortcake
Snickerdoodle cookies
Sponge cake
Starburst
Strudel

Fruits:
Satsuma (like a mandarin)
Starfruit
Strawberries

Meats/Protein:
Sablefish
Sardines
Sausage
Scampi (small lobster)
Scrambled eggs
Steak
Swedish meatball
Swordfish

Vegetables:
Salad
Salsa
Snowpeas
Spaghetti Squash
Spinach
Sprouts
String beans
Sweet potatoes
Squash
Summer squash
Swiss chard

Combos:
Sandwich
Shish kebab
Sliders
Sloppy joes
Souffle
Spanish rice
Spring roll
Stromboli
Stuffing

List of R Foods

The letter R has SO many foods associated with it. If you haven't made a "Letter Lunch" yet, try it with this one. Pick one food from each group. Put it together, and presto! Your very own R lunch!

Breads/Grains:
Ramen
Rice
Rice cake
Rice-A-Roni
Rigatoni
Ritz crackers
Rolls
Rye bread

Dairy:
Ranch dressing
Ricotta cheese

Desserts:
Reese's pieces

Fruits:
Raisins
Rambutan (red, spiny exterior with sweet and sour taste)
Raspberries

Meats/Protein:
Rabbit
Rasher (thin slice of bacon)
Ribeye steak
Roast beef
Roe

Vegetables:
Radicchio
Radish
Ragu sauce
Ratatouille (stewed vegetables)
Red bell pepper
Red potatoes
Rhubarb
Romaine
Rutubaga

Combos:
Raisin Bran cereal
Ravioli
Reuben sandwich
Risotto

List of Q Foods

Although the food options may be slightly limited, I hope that this list will spur your creativity to attempt your first "Letter Lunch".

Breads/Grains:
Quaker oats
Quinoa
Quisp cereal

Dairy:
Queso

Fruits:
Quandong (native Australian fruit)
Quark
Quetsche plum (Italian prune plum)
Quince (I've seen these at an Asian grocery store)

Meats/Protein:
Quail
Quail eggs (also at an Asian grocery store)
Quahog (clam)
Queensland nuts (macadamia nuts)

Vegetables:
Queen olives

Combos:
Quaker oats (granola)
Quesadilla
Quiche

List of P Foods

I just love the letter P, because there is a multitude of foods that begin with it!  There are SO many options for making a Letter P lunch.

For a preschooler: create a finger food lunch of Pretzels, Provolone cheese, Pudding, Plums, Peanuts and Peas - all things relatively familiar to a young child.

For a more sophisticated bento to eat at your office, try Pappardelle Pasta with Prawns, Pattypan squash and Porcini mushrooms, with Pomegranate juice to drink.

For a picnic-style lunch: Pita chips, Provolone cheese, rolled up Pastrami, dried Pineapple bits, Prunes and Pickles. The combinations are almost endless! What will you put together?

Breads/Grains:
Pancakes
Pappardelle pasta (wide fettucine)
Pearl millet
Pita bread
Pita chips
Polenta
Popcorn
Porridge
Pretzels
Pumpernickel bread

Dairy:
Paneer cheese (Indian cheese similar to queso fresco)
Provolone cheese

Desserts:
Panne cotta (Italian cooked cream)
Pannetone (Italian sweet bread)
Pastry
Peppermint
Pizelle (traditional Italian waffle cookies)
Pop rocks
Pop Tart
Pudding

Fruits:
Papaya
Passion fruit
Peach
Persimmon
Pineapple
Plantain
Plum
Pomengranate
Prickly pear
Prune
Pummelo

Meats/Protein:
Pancetta (Italian bacon)
Pastrami
Peanut butter
Peanuts
Pecans
Perch
Pine nuts
Pinto beans
Pollock
Poached egg
Pork
Prawns
Prosciutto (thinly sliced, dry-cured ham)

Vegetables:
Palm
Parsley
Parsnip
Pattypan squash
Peas
Peppers
Pesto
Pickles
Pico de gallo
Porcini mushrooms
Potatoes
Pumpkin

Combos:
Pad Thai
Paella
Panini
Philly cheese steak sandwiches
Potstickers

List of O Foods

Since the foods beginning with the Letter O are not very numerous, it's time to pull out the stops on the creativity. For instance, instead of putting Octopus into the lunch as the main protein, I created an Octo-Dog (octopus-looking hot dog). What will YOU come up with? And please share a picture - I'd love to see!

Breads/Grains:
Oatmeal
Oats
Orecchiette pasta (looks like little ears)
Orzo pasta

Dairy:
Olde York cheese (creamy and crisp taste)
Oxford blue cheese (creamy, semi-soft, blue cheese)

Desserts:
Oreos

Fruits:
Orange

Meats/Protein:
Ocean perch
Octo-Dog (octopus-shaped hot dog)
Octopus
Orange roughy
Oysters

Vegetables:
Okra
Olives
Onion rings
Onions

Combos:
Omelet

How to Make a Letter N Lunch

How to make a Letter N lunch? Simple.
Pick a food from each category. Assemble in a lunchbox.

Remember to keep wetter foods away from dry foods. There are two ways that you can accomplish this:
(1) Place the foods in different containers or compartments. Fit n Fresh boxes enable you to separate the foods into numerous, appropriate size containers. Easy Lunchboxes has 3 distinct sections that allow foods to be separate, yet still in the same lunch box.
(2) Use silicone baking cups in whatever lunchbox you use. They are perfect for dividing up large spaces, as well as containing delicate cookies or juicy fruit salad.

I highlighted the foods that I used in my lunch. What foods will you choose to create a Letter N Lunch?

Breads/Grains:
Naan
Noodles

Dairy:
Neufchatel cheese

Desserts:
Nilla wafers
Nougat
Nutella spread
Nutter Butter cookie

Fruits:
Nectarine

Meats/Protein:
Nuggets
Nuts

Vegetables:
Napa cabbage
Navy beans
Nicoise salad
Northern beans

Combos:
Nachos
New England clam chowder

List of M Foods

On Monday, I blogged about the Letter M AlphaBento that I created. Now, I present you with a non-comprehensive list of foods beginning with the letter M. Perhaps, this will inspire you to create your own letter M AlphaBento for your child ... Or for yourself!

Breads/Grains:
Marble rye bread
Mezze rigatoni pasta (small rigatoni)
Mezzelune pasta (half-moon shapes)
Mostaccioli pasta (larger than penne)
Muffins
Multigrain bread

Dairy:
Marscapone cheese
Milk
Monterey Jack cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Muenster cheese

Desserts:
Macaroon
Marble cake
Marshmallows
Milky Way candy bar
Molten chocolate lava cake
Monkey bread
Mousse

Fruits:
Mandarin oranges
Mango
Melon
Mulberries

Meats/Protein:
Macadamia nuts
Meatloaf
Mutton

Vegetables:
Marinara sauce
Mashed potatoes
Mushrooms

Combos:

Macaroni & cheese

Manicotti

Monte Cristo sandwiches

What will you create?

Foods Beginning with Letter L

Making your own L lunch can be quite simple to put together. Let me give you some ideas.

(1) Combine Lumaconi (large, pasta shells) and Le Chevrot cheese for your own Letter L mac 'n' cheese.

(2) Package up items for make-your-own Lettuce wraps. In a lunch container, place the fillings and toppings, keeping them separate. Wrap lettuce cups separately from the fillings. It's an interactive lunch.

(3) Begin with London broil. Add a side of Lavash bread and a few slices of Le Cabrie cheese. Pick your favorite Letter L fruits and veggies. And there you have it ... a picnic-style Letter L Lunch!

(4) Copy my Luscious, Lemony Letter L Lunch. (If you post it, please remember to direct people back to my website, to my original idea. Thanks.)

Breads/Grains:
Lavash
Linguine
Lumaconi (large shells)

Dairy:
Latte
Le Cabrie (cross between Brie & Cheevre)
Le Chevrot (goat's milk cheese, with buttery taste)
Limburger cheese

Desserts:
Lemon poppyseed bread
Lemon square
Licorice
Lollipop

Fruits:
Lemon
Lime
Loganberry
Lychee

Meats/Protein:
Lamb
Lemon sole
Lentil
Liver
Lobster
London broil

Vegetables:
Leeks
Lettuce
Lemongrass
Lima beans

Combos:
Lasagna
Lettuce wraps (like PF Chang's - yum!)
Lo mein

List of K Foods

To follow up on this week's early post: Colorful & Delicious Letter K Bento, here is a list of foods that start with Letter K. There are a lot of K foods, so it should be relatively easy for YOU to make your own Letter K lunch! Just pick one food from each group, pack in your lunchbox, and poof ... lunch! (I highlighted the ones that I used.)

Breads/Grains:
Kaiser roll
Kamut (durum wheat)
Kashi
Kettle corn
Kipfel (like a croissant)

Dairy:
Kasseri cheese (like feta)
Kerrygold Swiss cheese
Kraft cheese

Desserts:
Kisses (Hershey's chocolate)
Key lime pie
Kit Kat candy bar
Krispy Kreme doughnut
Kunefe (cheese pastry)

Fruits:
Kaffir lime
Kiwi
Kumquat

Meats/Protein:
Keftedes (Greek meatballs)
KFC Chicken
Kielbasa

Vegetables:
Kale chips
Kelp
Kernel corn
Kidney beans
Kohlrabi
Kosher pickles

Combos:

Kebabs (skewered meat & veggies)

List of J Foods

Perhaps your child's name begins with the letter J. Or perhaps, J is YOUR favorite letter. In case you'd like to make your own Letter J lunch, here are some foods that begin with J to get you started.

Breads/Grains:
Jewish rye bread
Johnny cake

Dairy:
Jarlsberg cheese

Desserts:
Jaffa cake
Jello
Jelly beans

Fruits:
Jackfruit
Jam
Jonathan apple

Meats/Protein:
Jerk chicken

Vegetables:
Jerusalem artichoke
Jicama

Combos:
Jambalaya

Foods beginning with I

Like I stated in my previous post, Letter I Bento, the Letter I proved a difficult challenge. However, I am not one to be easily deterred by hardships, especially when it comes to making a fun lunch. If you would like to make your own Letter I lunch, here are a few foods beginning with I. Create away!

Breads/Grains:
Italian bread
Integrale (wholewheat) pasta

Dairy:
Ice cream

Desserts:
Ice cream sandwich
Italian fruit tart

Fruits:
Iyokan (Japanese citrus)
Ita palm fruit
Ilama (like a cherimoya)

Meats/Protein:
Italian sausage

Vegetables:
Iceburg lettuce
Italian salad dressing (condiment for veggies)

Combos:
Indian curry

The Letter H Lunch ingredients

Pick a food from each category. Put them together, and you have a homemade, Letter H lunch. It's that easy!

Breads/Grains:
Hawaiian rolls
Hard roll
Hominy
Hot cross bun

Dairy:
Halloumi cheese (like a salty mozzarella. Great if grilled!)
Havarti cheese (creamy cheese with small holes. Usually found in the deli case.)
Hollandaise sauce

Desserts:
Hazlenut torte
Heath candy bar
Honey buns
Huckleberry tart

Fruits:
Honeydew
Huckleberries (similar, yet smaller than blueberries)

Meats/Protein:
Hake fish (mild, flaky fish)
Halibut (mildly sweet, white fish)
Ham
Hamburger
Hard salami
Hard-boiled eggs
Hot dogs
Hummus (Here is my favorite recipe: Homemade Hummus, and here's how to make hummus smooth like the store bought brands.)

Vegetables:
Habanero pepper
Haricots (French for 'green beans')
Hash browns
Hearts of palm (edible inner part of a cabbage palm tree; tastes similar to artichoke hearts)
Herbs
Home fries
Hubbard squash

Combos:
Hawaiian pizza

List of G foods

To create a Letter G lunch, you need foods begin with G. There are some pretty obvious foods, like grapes (which I forgot!), garlic bread and green beans. However, those foods by themselves do not constitute a complete lunch. To solve this dilemma, below I have provided a list of G foods. I highlighted the foods that I used in my own G bento lunch. Get creative!

Breads & Grains:
Garlic bread
Gnocchi
Goldfish
Graham crackers
Goya crackers

Dairy:
Gouda cheese
Greek yogurt

Desserts:
Gingerbread
Ginger snaps

Fruits:
Grapefruit
Grapes
Guava

Meats & Protein:
General Tsao's chicken
Genoa salami
Grass-fed meat
Ground beef

Vegetables:
Garbanzo beans
Garlic
Gherkin pickles
Green beans
Green onions
Guacamole

Combos:
Gazpacho (cold veggie soup)
Genova pesto on top of pasta
Granola
Gyros

Foods that Start with F

As a follow-up to the previous post: A Lunch Brought to You by the Letter F, here is a list of foods that begin with the Letter F. If you create your own Letter F lunch, I'd love to hear about it!

Breads/Grains:

Falafel

Farfalle (bow-tie pasta)

Fettucine

Flour tortillas

French bread

Dairy:

Feta cheese

Fondue (cheese)

Desserts:

Fig newtons

Flan

Fondue (chocolate)

Fortune cookie

Fudge

Fruits:

Fig

Fruit salad

Meats/Proteins:

Filet mignon

Fish fillet

Fish sticks

Vegetables:

Fava beans

Fennel

Florentine ("served with spinach")

French fries

Friss (curly endive lettuce)

Combos:
Fagioli (Italian for "pasta and beans"
Fajitas
Finger sandwiches
French toast
Fried rice

Everything E food related

Last post, I showed you my E bento, centered around brunch. But what else can you pack in an E bento lunch? Review the list below, and see what you can come up with.

Breads and Grains:
Egg bagel
Elbow noodles
English muffin
Ezekiel bread

Dairy:
Eggnog
Emmental (yellow, large-holed Swiss)

Desserts:
Eclair

Fruits:
Elderberry (small, round, bluish-black berry)
Ertrog (lemon-like citrus fruit)

Meats/Protein:
Egg
Egg salad
Escargot (cooked snails)

Vegetables:
Edamame
Eggplant
Endive
Epinards (French for "spinach")
Escarole

Combo:
Empanadas

Foods Beginning with "D"

Time for making a Delicious D Lunch. Here are the foods I have discovered that begin with the letter D. Now YOU can create a lunch for your kids OR for yourself!

Breads or Grains:
Dirty rice (Cajun rice, chicken, onions & peppers)
Ditalini pasta (little pasta tubes used in minestrone, etc)

Dairy:
Danablu cheese (sharp, blue-veined cheese from Denmark)
Devonshire cream (clotted cream from England)
Dip
Dolcelatte (blue-veined, soft cheese - like a sweet Gorgonzola)
Double Gloucester cheese (English cheddar-style cheese from Gloucester region)
Dressing

Desserts:
Danish
Dark chocolate
Devils food cake
Donut
Dulce de leche (Hispanic "candy of milk")

Fruits:
Damson plum (small, sweet plum)
Dates
Dragonfruit (bright pink skin, white flesh with black speckles)
Durian (Asian fruit with a thick, prickly husk and a stinky custardy inside)

Meats and Proteins:
Deviled egg
Duck
Dungeness crab

Vegetables:
Daikon radish
Dandelion greens salad
Dill pickles

Combinations:
Dagwood sandwich (tall, many-layered sandwich of bread, meats, cheeses)
Dal (thick Indian lentil stew)
Demi-glace sauce
Denver omelet (omelet with ham, onions, peppers & cheese)
Dolmas (Mediterranean dish consisting of meat & rice wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves)
Dumplings (Seriously, get them at Trader Joe's. Yum!)

Other ingredients to possibly incorporate:
Demi glace - rich, brown sauce that is the base for other sauces
Dijon mustard
Dill

Foods Beginning with the Letter C

Earlier this week, I blogged about one of my creations - a Letter C lunch, which contained foods that ALL began with the Letter C. In hindsight, I should have put in a Chocolate Chip Cookie, which (if we were playing Scattergories) would have earned me 3 points. Alas, there were no cookies OR chocolate chips in my house this week. Oh, well!

Below is a pretty extensive list of foods beginning with the letter C. Choose an item or two from each category, and craft your own lunch. Perhaps YOU will even throw a CCC (Chocolate Chip Cookie) in for "extra points".

I'd love to hear about your creations. Leave a message to let me know!

Breads and Grains:

Cereal

Chex

Corn Chips *** Extra Scattergories point***

Corn tortillas

Cream of wheat

Croissant

Couscous

Dairy:

Cheddar Cheese *** Extra Scattergories point***

Cheese

Cream Cheese *** Extra Scattergories point***

Desserts:

Carob Chips *** Extra Scattergories point***

Cake (Chocolate Cake for more points!)

Cannoli

Caramel

Cheesecake

Chocolate

Churro

Cookie (Chocolate Chip Cookies for 3 points!)

Cruller

Cupcake

Fruits:

Cantaloupe

Carambola (starfruit)

Cherry

Clementine

Coconut

Craisins

Cranberries

Currants

Meats and Proteins:

Calamari (fried squid)

Canadian bacon

Cashew
Caviar

Cheeseburger

Chestnut
Chicken salad

Chicken nuggets

Chorizo

Clams

Cod

Cornish hens

Crab legs

Vegetables:

Cabbage

Caesar salad

Carrots

Cauliflower

Celery

Chickpeas

Coleslaw

Collard greens

Corn

Courgette (zucchini)

Cress

Cucumber

Combos:

Calzone

Casserole

Chili

Chimichangas

Clam Chowder *** Extra Scattergories point***

Club sandwich

Cuban sandwich

Crepe

Curry

List of B foods

A few days ago, I posted a picture of my Letter B Alphabento. Here is an extensive, though non-comprehensive, list of foods the begin with B. I highlighted the foods that I used. What kind of lunch will YOU create?

Breads and Grains:
Bagel
Bagel chips
Baguette
Barley
Biscuit
Bran
Bread
Brioche
Brown rice
Buckwheat
Bulgur wheat
Bun

Dairy:
Babybel cheese
Bleu cheese
Brie cheese
Butter

Desserts:
Baby Ruth candy bar
Baked Alaska
Baklava
Black licorice
Blintz
Blondie
Brownie

Fruits:
Banana
Bing cherries
Blackberries
Blood orange
Blueberries
Boysenberries

Meats and Protein:
Bacon
Barbecue chicken
Bass
Beef
Beef jerky
Bison
Bologna
Bratwurst
Brazil nuts
Brisket
Buffalo wings

Vegetables:
Baba ghanoush (eggplant dip)
Baked Beans
Baked potato
Bamboo shoots
Bean sprouts
Beans
Beets
Bell pepper
Bibb lettuce
Black olives
Bok choy
Borscht
Broccoli
Bruschetta
Brussel sprouts
Butternut squash

Combos:
BLT sandwich
Burrito