Bento 2011

Just so ya' know, I'm still bento-ing.

Here's a pic of the first bento of 2011.

Clockwise from left:  ranch dressing, thin-sliced turkey breast, Pringles chips, 

Golden Grahams & Chocolate (my marshmallows went stale--drat!--or this would have been s'mores!), applesawuce, carrots

More Bentos

Just to prove to you that bentos aren't one of my many passing phases (yet), AND that they really aren't that tricky to put together, I'm going to show you Endeavor's lunch.

Of my three bento packing children, Endeavor is probably the one who enjoys and appreciates the bentos the most.  She loves hearing her friends ooh and ahh over them at lunchtime.  Justone, on the other hand, tolerates them, and Superkid seems to be completely uninterested.  Despite their malaise, they bring their bento boxes home empty, which is the point, so I still feel successful.

Anyway, these pics are to prove that bentos needn't be complex.

All that went into this bento were a few leftovers and some typical lunch items that went to the bento side via some plastic picks.

Clockwise from the upper left:  mini cupcake (leftover from the teeny-tiny party we had this weekend), fresh peach chunks, skewers of pepper jack cheese (the only cheese Endeavor will eat cold), skewers of thin sliced roast turkey breast, wheat crackers (I put extras in a ziplock bag, as well), and small celery sticks.  Every food group represented, boo-yah!

I whipped today's bentos up  in less that five minutes.  Now I have to work on making sure everyone gets their bento boxes unpacked and into the dishwasher every day after school, so I'm not scrambling to get things washed up before I can pack them in the morning.

I love that since I featured my first bentos, one of my sisters and one of my sister-in-laws have become really excited about them, too.  See?  It's not just me.  SIL Kris left me this comment:

Cue Angels singing and light streaming from heaven as the Bento lunches are illuminated from above! I have really struggled with my kids taking lunches because they always bring them back home with barely a nibble consumed. I think this could very well be our answer. I need to do some Bento shopping!

I, in turn, told Kris that if she ever made a bento, it was her civic duty to post a picture of it.  After all, she is a nationally award winning photographer.  Well, Kris has not only done her civic duty, she did it very well.  You can see her bento here (a Yoda sandwich!).  I'm not going to let my kids see it, because their cousins' bentos are officially way cooler than theirs.  If you stop by Kris's blog, don't leave without checking out the amazing costume shoots she does with children and families.  All I'm saying is, these ain't your mamas Halloween snapshots.

Dorothy & Toto

Spiderman

Percy Jackson 

Star Wars

If you are jumping on the bento bandwagon, too, make sure you send me pictures!  I'm especially interested in creative ways to bento without breaking the bank-o.